ZIP 90221 vs ZIP 90220

This side-by-side compares ZIP 90221 (Compton, CA) and ZIP 90220 (Compton, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 90221 has a population of 53,704 at 3,889 people per square mile, while ZIP 90220 has 49,328 at 2,756 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 90221 reports a median household income of $72,937 against $82,335 in ZIP 90220, with per-capita income of $22,522 vs $27,515. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 7.9% in 90221 and 13.1% in 90220. Poverty rate reads 17.6% vs 17.5%, and unemployment 8.3% vs 6.6% — 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 $575,000 in 90221 versus $554,900 in 90220, with median rent of $1,678 and $1,629 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 51.0% vs 61.5%. 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.