ZIP 90638 vs ZIP 90604

This side-by-side compares ZIP 90638 (La Mirada, CA) and ZIP 90604 (Whittier, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 90638 has a population of 49,012 at 2,405 people per square mile, while ZIP 90604 has 39,407 at 3,571 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 90638 reports a median household income of $109,649 against $105,074 in ZIP 90604, with per-capita income of $44,752 vs $38,636. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 40.9% in 90638 and 24.4% in 90604. Poverty rate reads 6.2% vs 6.3%, and unemployment 3.5% vs 3.0% — 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 $827,300 in 90638 versus $785,200 in 90604, with median rent of $2,217 and $1,904 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.2% vs 65.4%. 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.