ZIP 95386 vs ZIP 95323

This side-by-side compares ZIP 95386 (Waterford, CA) and ZIP 95323 (Hickman, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 95386 has a population of 9,877 at 45 people per square mile, while ZIP 95323 has 1,260 at 16 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 95386 reports a median household income of $73,196 against $75,938 in ZIP 95323, with per-capita income of $29,403 vs $32,271. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 10.7% in 95386 and 14.6% in 95323. Poverty rate reads 15.7% vs 12.4%, and unemployment 7.1% vs 15.3% — 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 $416,500 in 95386 versus $568,200 in 95323, with median rent of $1,593 and $1,011 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 57.4% vs 64.5%. 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.