ZIP 94521 vs ZIP 94518

This side-by-side compares ZIP 94521 (Concord, CA) and ZIP 94518 (Concord, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 94521 has a population of 41,249 at 1,228 people per square mile, while ZIP 94518 has 26,778 at 1,900 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 94521 reports a median household income of $125,899 against $112,094 in ZIP 94518, with per-capita income of $59,781 vs $55,520. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 44.6% in 94521 and 42.9% in 94518. Poverty rate reads 5.2% vs 9.2%, and unemployment 6.1% vs 5.1% — 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 $853,200 in 94521 versus $859,000 in 94518, with median rent of $2,404 and $2,348 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 74.3% vs 69.3%. 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.