ZIP 91030 vs ZIP 91105

This side-by-side compares ZIP 91030 (South Pasadena, CA) and ZIP 91105 (Pasadena, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 91030 has a population of 25,616 at 2,900 people per square mile, while ZIP 91105 has 11,254 at 1,177 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 91030 reports a median household income of $127,175 against $156,791 in ZIP 91105, with per-capita income of $76,757 vs $113,117. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 73.5% in 91030 and 74.2% in 91105. Poverty rate reads 4.9% vs 6.8%, and unemployment 5.1% vs 3.8% — 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 $1,640,000 in 91030 versus $1,671,000 in 91105, with median rent of $2,284 and $3,075 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 44.0% vs 55.7%. 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.