ZIP 90262 vs ZIP 90280

This side-by-side compares ZIP 90262 (Lynwood, CA) and ZIP 90280 (South Gate, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 90262 has a population of 69,745 at 5,572 people per square mile, while ZIP 90280 has 94,396 at 4,989 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 90262 reports a median household income of $75,194 against $74,651 in ZIP 90280, with per-capita income of $22,526 vs $26,407. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 9.9% in 90262 and 11.3% in 90280. Poverty rate reads 18.0% vs 12.7%, and unemployment 9.8% vs 7.4% — 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 $597,600 in 90262 versus $636,300 in 90280, with median rent of $1,652 and $1,531 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 48.1% vs 45.4%. 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.