ZIP 95422 vs ZIP 95453

This side-by-side compares ZIP 95422 (Clearlake, CA) and ZIP 95453 (Lakeport, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 95422 has a population of 15,585 at 171 people per square mile, while ZIP 95453 has 11,256 at 52 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 95422 reports a median household income of $42,241 against $71,419 in ZIP 95453, with per-capita income of $21,643 vs $40,820. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 8.3% in 95422 and 20.9% in 95453. Poverty rate reads 25.0% vs 15.0%, and unemployment 14.9% vs 7.2% — 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 $217,000 in 95422 versus $403,300 in 95453, with median rent of $1,251 and $1,264 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 60.3% vs 78.2%. 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.