ZIP 96033 vs ZIP 96087

This side-by-side compares ZIP 96033 (French Gulch, CA) and ZIP 96087 (Shasta, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 96033 has a population of 432 at 1 people per square mile, while ZIP 96087 has 600 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 96033 reports a median household income of $44,375 against $110,375 in ZIP 96087, with per-capita income of $37,228 vs $61,538. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.0% in 96033 and 27.7% in 96087. Poverty rate reads 1.2% vs 7.0%, and unemployment 11.4% vs 15.7% - 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 $85,700 in 96033 versus $359,500 in 96087, with median rent of $875 and - per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.4% vs 100.0%. 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.