ZIP 90280 vs ZIP 90262

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