ZIP 95938 vs ZIP 95928

This side-by-side compares ZIP 95938 (Durham, CA) and ZIP 95928 (Chico, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 95938 has a population of 3,787 at 20 people per square mile, while ZIP 95928 has 36,511 at 103 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 95938 reports a median household income of $82,974 against $64,949 in ZIP 95928, with per-capita income of $47,033 vs $42,563. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 43.6% in 95938 and 42.3% in 95928. Poverty rate reads 12.9% vs 23.9%, and unemployment 8.3% vs 8.2% — 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 $611,700 in 95938 versus $503,100 in 95928, with median rent of $1,138 and $1,456 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 64.6% vs 42.4%. 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.