ZIP 95368 vs ZIP 95356

This side-by-side compares ZIP 95368 (Salida, CA) and ZIP 95356 (Modesto, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 95368 has a population of 13,614 at 1,588 people per square mile, while ZIP 95356 has 30,918 at 525 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 95368 reports a median household income of $94,935 against $96,886 in ZIP 95356, with per-capita income of $42,511 vs $50,112. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.6% in 95368 and 31.7% in 95356. Poverty rate reads 8.2% vs 7.6%, and unemployment 8.9% vs 5.0% — 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 $461,100 in 95368 versus $532,600 in 95356, with median rent of $2,081 and $1,877 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.3% vs 67.6%. 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.