ZIP 89502 vs ZIP 89431

This side-by-side compares ZIP 89502 (Reno, NV) and ZIP 89431 (Sparks, NV) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 89502 has a population of 43,566 at 758 people per square mile, while ZIP 89431 has 36,189 at 1,443 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 89502 reports a median household income of $65,328 against $66,592 in ZIP 89431, with per-capita income of $34,168 vs $31,679. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.0% in 89502 and 15.4% in 89431. Poverty rate reads 17.9% vs 13.3%, and unemployment 5.6% vs 6.1% — 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 $413,200 in 89502 versus $365,100 in 89431, with median rent of $1,361 and $1,348 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 35.7% vs 45.5%. 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.