ZIP 96789 vs ZIP 96797

This side-by-side compares ZIP 96789 (Mililani, HI) and ZIP 96797 (Waipahu, HI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 96789 has a population of 54,129 at 766 people per square mile, while ZIP 96797 has 72,289 at 813 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 96789 reports a median household income of $127,066 against $114,654 in ZIP 96797, with per-capita income of $53,168 vs $39,232. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 45.0% in 96789 and 26.0% in 96797. Poverty rate reads 3.6% vs 8.8%, and unemployment 3.1% vs 3.9% — 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 $920,400 in 96789 versus $826,300 in 96797, with median rent of $2,314 and $1,997 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.8% vs 67.3%. 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.