ZIP 92831 vs ZIP 92870

This side-by-side compares ZIP 92831 (Fullerton, CA) and ZIP 92870 (Placentia, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 92831 has a population of 34,204 at 2,210 people per square mile, while ZIP 92870 has 52,033 at 2,964 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 92831 reports a median household income of $89,278 against $115,929 in ZIP 92870, with per-capita income of $48,337 vs $48,006. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 44.7% in 92831 and 44.2% in 92870. Poverty rate reads 15.7% vs 7.9%, and unemployment 6.9% vs 5.5% — 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 $876,800 in 92831 versus $921,000 in 92870, with median rent of $2,146 and $2,388 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 41.0% vs 63.6%. 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.