ZIP 95942 vs ZIP 95954

This side-by-side compares ZIP 95942 (Forest Ranch, CA) and ZIP 95954 (Magalia, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 95942 has a population of 1,301 at 9 people per square mile, while ZIP 95954 has 12,251 at 67 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 95942 reports a median household income of $116,400 against $61,280 in ZIP 95954, with per-capita income of $43,995 vs $34,618. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.3% in 95942 and 17.8% in 95954. Poverty rate reads 3.9% vs 11.7%, and unemployment 3.8% vs 9.9% — 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 $448,000 in 95942 versus $292,400 in 95954, with median rent of — and $1,441 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 97.3% vs 84.1%. 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.