ZIP 90503 vs ZIP 90505

This side-by-side compares ZIP 90503 (Torrance, CA) and ZIP 90505 (Torrance, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 90503 has a population of 44,383 at 3,235 people per square mile, while ZIP 90505 has 36,678 at 2,444 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 90503 reports a median household income of $125,912 against $115,593 in ZIP 90505, with per-capita income of $59,178 vs $60,677. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 55.9% in 90503 and 59.5% in 90505. Poverty rate reads 7.4% vs 6.7%, and unemployment 5.2% vs 5.4% — 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 $1,099,700 in 90503 versus $1,204,300 in 90505, with median rent of $2,302 and $2,387 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 52.6% vs 55.8%. 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.