ZIP 99709 vs ZIP 99701

This side-by-side compares ZIP 99709 (Fairbanks, AK) and ZIP 99701 (Fairbanks, AK) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 99709 has a population of 29,830 at 23 people per square mile, while ZIP 99701 has 19,019 at 2 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 99709 reports a median household income of $86,294 against $75,668 in ZIP 99701, with per-capita income of $51,116 vs $40,352. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 43.3% in 99709 and 22.3% in 99701. Poverty rate reads 6.5% vs 10.4%, and unemployment 4.0% vs 5.4% — 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 $304,800 in 99709 versus $252,600 in 99701, with median rent of $1,337 and $1,335 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 64.8% vs 45.4%. 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.