ZIP 95128 vs ZIP 95117

This side-by-side compares ZIP 95128 (San Jose, CA) and ZIP 95117 (San Jose, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 95128 has a population of 34,836 at 3,446 people per square mile, while ZIP 95117 has 30,067 at 4,522 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 95128 reports a median household income of $131,152 against $116,348 in ZIP 95117, with per-capita income of $79,147 vs $67,458. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 52.2% in 95128 and 46.9% in 95117. Poverty rate reads 9.9% vs 10.3%, and unemployment 3.9% vs 6.7% — 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 $1,262,600 in 95128 versus $1,520,700 in 95117, with median rent of $2,589 and $2,355 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 44.7% vs 35.6%. 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.