ZIP 90002 vs ZIP 90059

This side-by-side compares ZIP 90002 (Los Angeles, CA) and ZIP 90059 (Los Angeles, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 90002 has a population of 51,223 at 6,459 people per square mile, while ZIP 90059 has 40,952 at 4,772 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 90002 reports a median household income of $59,021 against $56,152 in ZIP 90059, with per-capita income of $19,591 vs $21,641. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 8.1% in 90002 and 10.4% in 90059. Poverty rate reads 23.0% vs 26.1%, and unemployment 9.5% vs 12.1% — 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 $534,200 in 90002 versus $583,900 in 90059, with median rent of $1,575 and $1,433 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 39.2% vs 44.2%. 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.