ZIP 96038 vs ZIP 96097

This side-by-side compares ZIP 96038 (Grenada, CA) and ZIP 96097 (Yreka, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 96038 has a population of 589 at 13 people per square mile, while ZIP 96097 has 10,031 at 20 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 96038 reports a median household income of $59,435 against $53,059 in ZIP 96097, with per-capita income of $32,796 vs $35,459. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.0% in 96038 and 20.1% in 96097. Poverty rate reads 22.4% vs 16.5%, and unemployment 17.1% vs 8.3% - 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 $439,500 in 96038 versus $277,600 in 96097, with median rent of $936 and $997 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 72.6% vs 62.1%. 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.