ZIP 96016 vs ZIP 96028

This side-by-side compares ZIP 96016 (Cassel, CA) and ZIP 96028 (Fall River Mills, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 96016 has a population of 366 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 96028 has 1,464 at 3 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 96016 reports a median household income of $54,526 against $76,295 in ZIP 96028, with per-capita income of $31,364 vs $33,944. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.3% in 96016 and 18.6% in 96028. Poverty rate reads 0.0% vs 17.9%, and unemployment 23.8% vs 9.8% - 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 $316,100 in 96016 versus $392,000 in 96028, with median rent of - and $984 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 100.0% vs 71.6%. 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.