ZIP 92254 vs ZIP 92274

This side-by-side compares ZIP 92254 (Mecca, CA) and ZIP 92274 (Thermal, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 92254 has a population of 12,768 at 106 people per square mile, while ZIP 92274 has 19,801 at 43 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 92254 reports a median household income of $48,272 against $38,654 in ZIP 92274, with per-capita income of $19,380 vs $19,602. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 3.6% in 92254 and 5.9% in 92274. Poverty rate reads 16.1% vs 20.1%, and unemployment 8.4% vs 13.4% — 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 $215,800 in 92254 versus $163,800 in 92274, with median rent of $975 and $925 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 63.8% vs 72.5%. 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.