ZIP 92386 vs ZIP 92314

This side-by-side compares ZIP 92386 (Sugarloaf, CA) and ZIP 92314 (Big Bear City, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 92386 has a population of 2,270 at 457 people per square mile, while ZIP 92314 has 10,162 at 127 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 92386 reports a median household income of $50,694 against $74,910 in ZIP 92314, with per-capita income of $32,752 vs $42,405. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 37.5% in 92386 and 29.6% in 92314. Poverty rate reads 24.6% vs 14.4%, and unemployment 9.5% vs 9.7% — 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 $458,600 in 92386 versus $457,200 in 92314, with median rent of $1,917 and $1,849 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 63.3% vs 71.9%. 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.