ZIP 88024 vs ZIP 88072

This side-by-side compares ZIP 88024 (Berino, NM) and ZIP 88072 (Vado, NM) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 88024 has a population of 236 at 123 people per square mile, while ZIP 88072 has 2,501 at 40 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 88024 reports a median household income of $38,333 against $53,750 in ZIP 88072, with per-capita income of $14,404 vs $22,333. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.7% in 88024 and 9.8% in 88072. Poverty rate reads 29.7% vs 21.5%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 7.8% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at — in 88024 versus $99,600 in 88072, with median rent of — and $764 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 100.0% vs 77.6%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.