ZIP 90605 vs ZIP 90602

This side-by-side compares ZIP 90605 (Whittier, CA) and ZIP 90602 (Whittier, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 90605 has a population of 40,331 at 2,755 people per square mile, while ZIP 90602 has 25,777 at 2,682 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 90605 reports a median household income of $99,635 against $68,505 in ZIP 90602, with per-capita income of $34,318 vs $32,266. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.8% in 90605 and 21.7% in 90602. Poverty rate reads 11.8% vs 13.1%, and unemployment 5.6% vs 5.6% — 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 $721,400 in 90605 versus $766,300 in 90602, with median rent of $1,897 and $1,787 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 65.9% vs 38.9%. 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.