ZIP 99508 vs ZIP 99501

This side-by-side compares ZIP 99508 (Anchorage, AK) and ZIP 99501 (Anchorage, AK) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 99508 has a population of 35,857 at 1,995 people per square mile, while ZIP 99501 has 17,603 at 979 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 99508 reports a median household income of $79,314 against $70,891 in ZIP 99501, with per-capita income of $36,310 vs $52,544. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.8% in 99508 and 39.4% in 99501. Poverty rate reads 18.3% vs 13.5%, and unemployment 6.3% vs 5.1% — 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 $335,300 in 99508 versus $379,100 in 99501, with median rent of $1,370 and $1,254 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 53.2% vs 37.2%. 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.