ZIP 95236 vs ZIP 95240

This side-by-side compares ZIP 95236 (Linden, CA) and ZIP 95240 (Lodi, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 95236 has a population of 4,223 at 15 people per square mile, while ZIP 95240 has 47,172 at 220 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 95236 reports a median household income of $104,703 against $82,137 in ZIP 95240, with per-capita income of $43,063 vs $34,054. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 27.8% in 95236 and 19.6% in 95240. Poverty rate reads 7.5% vs 14.4%, and unemployment 17.1% vs 8.8% — 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 $650,500 in 95236 versus $472,100 in 95240, with median rent of $1,582 and $1,571 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 59.3% vs 51.0%. 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.