ZIP 92617 vs ZIP 92612

This side-by-side compares ZIP 92617 (Irvine, CA) and ZIP 92612 (Irvine, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 92617 has a population of 14,044 at 2,256 people per square mile, while ZIP 92612 has 27,522 at 1,750 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 92617 reports a median household income of $91,529 against $106,226 in ZIP 92612, with per-capita income of $28,472 vs $56,813. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 82.9% in 92617 and 64.0% in 92612. Poverty rate reads 26.1% vs 20.9%, and unemployment 10.9% vs 6.9% — 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 $693,700 in 92617 versus $993,800 in 92612, with median rent of $1,477 and $2,872 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 35.6% vs 26.1%. 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.