ZIP 94611 vs ZIP 94602

This side-by-side compares ZIP 94611 (Oakland, CA) and ZIP 94602 (Oakland, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 94611 has a population of 36,565 at 1,337 people per square mile, while ZIP 94602 has 28,329 at 3,309 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 94611 reports a median household income of $180,549 against $122,263 in ZIP 94602, with per-capita income of $118,163 vs $72,943. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 79.4% in 94611 and 59.1% in 94602. Poverty rate reads 6.2% vs 8.4%, and unemployment 4.4% 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 $1,537,700 in 94611 versus $1,129,500 in 94602, with median rent of $2,303 and $1,996 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 60.6% vs 60.2%. 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.