ZIP 90277 vs ZIP 90503

This side-by-side compares ZIP 90277 (Redondo Beach, CA) and ZIP 90503 (Torrance, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 90277 has a population of 35,293 at 3,804 people per square mile, while ZIP 90503 has 44,383 at 3,235 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 90277 reports a median household income of $127,795 against $125,912 in ZIP 90503, with per-capita income of $86,194 vs $59,178. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 69.6% in 90277 and 55.9% in 90503. Poverty rate reads 6.4% vs 7.4%, and unemployment 5.9% vs 5.2% — 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 $1,476,000 in 90277 versus $1,099,700 in 90503, with median rent of $2,742 and $2,302 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 48.5% vs 52.6%. 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.