ZIP 93656 vs ZIP 93609

This side-by-side compares ZIP 93656 (Riverdale, CA) and ZIP 93609 (Caruthers, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 93656 has a population of 6,313 at 22 people per square mile, while ZIP 93609 has 5,640 at 35 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 93656 reports a median household income of $72,333 against $78,750 in ZIP 93609, with per-capita income of $20,459 vs $25,332. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 8.2% in 93656 and 15.3% in 93609. Poverty rate reads 10.2% vs 16.1%, and unemployment 5.6% vs 6.2% — 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 $294,600 in 93656 versus $333,200 in 93609, with median rent of $1,023 and $1,392 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 48.2% vs 47.2%. 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.