ZIP 96786 vs ZIP 96712

This side-by-side compares ZIP 96786 (Wahiawa, HI) and ZIP 96712 (Haleiwa, HI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 96786 has a population of 40,859 at 192 people per square mile, while ZIP 96712 has 7,352 at 137 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 96786 reports a median household income of $85,554 against $88,333 in ZIP 96712, with per-capita income of $34,560 vs $52,909. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.4% in 96786 and 29.8% in 96712. Poverty rate reads 10.3% vs 13.9%, and unemployment 3.9% vs 6.7% — 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 $807,900 in 96786 versus $1,400,100 in 96712, with median rent of $2,787 and $1,966 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 31.1% vs 55.3%. 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.