ZIP 93430 vs ZIP 93428

This side-by-side compares ZIP 93430 (Cayucos, CA) and ZIP 93428 (Cambria, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 93430 has a population of 2,972 at 16 people per square mile, while ZIP 93428 has 6,314 at 32 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 93430 reports a median household income of $89,519 against $99,762 in ZIP 93428, with per-capita income of $53,837 vs $56,303. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 45.0% in 93430 and 49.2% in 93428. Poverty rate reads 8.6% vs 10.0%, and unemployment 1.2% vs 8.1% - 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 $1,018,200 in 93430 versus $932,500 in 93428, with median rent of $1,571 and $1,912 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 63.1% vs 78.1%. 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.