ZIP 92243 vs ZIP 92231

This side-by-side compares ZIP 92243 (El Centro, CA) and ZIP 92231 (Calexico, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 92243 has a population of 48,030 at 168 people per square mile, while ZIP 92231 has 39,073 at 264 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 92243 reports a median household income of $55,057 against $49,742 in ZIP 92231, with per-capita income of $23,703 vs $20,587. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 15.4% in 92243 and 18.9% in 92231. Poverty rate reads 21.2% vs 19.8%, and unemployment 9.5% vs 19.4% — 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 $317,900 in 92243 versus $313,400 in 92231, with median rent of $1,054 and $1,092 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 51.5% vs 50.2%. 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.