Top 10 US ZIP Codes by Population Density
Population density rankings across US ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, computed from Census population and ZIP geographic area. Rendered server-side from a live SELECT against the PlainZIP zips table.
Research period:
Research question
Across the 33,000+ ZIP Code Tabulation Areas in the United States, which ZIPs report the highest population density (residents per square mile), and how does density correlate with absolute population size in the same ZIP?
Top 10 US ZIP Codes by Population Density
Live data, rendered from a SELECT against the portal database at request time.
- 10028
New York, NY
55,636 people per sq mi
- 10075
New York, NY
54,746.3 people per sq mi
- 10128
New York, NY
50,118.8 people per sq mi
- 10025
New York, NY
48,594.3 people per sq mi
- 10023
New York, NY
48,060.9 people per sq mi
- 10021
New York, NY
44,214.6 people per sq mi
- 10040
New York, NY
42,392.8 people per sq mi
- 10026
New York, NY
39,504.2 people per sq mi
- 10016
New York, NY
39,315.3 people per sq mi
- 10009
New York, NY
38,399.1 people per sq mi
What this shows The densest ZIPs are compact urban districts in Manhattan and central Brooklyn, where high-rise housing concentrates large populations on very small footprints.
How we built this ranking
ZIPs with more than 1,000 residents and a positive land area are ranked by density (residents per square mile), descending, and the top 10 are returned. Every figure on this page is drawn directly from the current dataset (nothing is hardcoded), so when the U.S. Census Bureau publishes a new vintage, the ranking updates on the next page load.
Density is computed as resident population divided by ZIP land area in square miles, using the Census geographic boundaries. Rows with a null, zero, or suppressed value are excluded rather than shown as zero, so the ranking never surfaces low-information records ahead of complete ones, and genuine outliers are shown as published rather than silently clipped.
One caution when reading this list. Resident density ignores daytime population, so a central business district that empties at night can rank lower than a residential high-rise district even though far more people occupy it during working hours. A ZIP with a very large land area can also post low computed density even when most of its residents cluster in a small urbanized portion, which is why we surface population and area alongside density in the table below so you can judge how representative the figure is.
This analysis is fully derived from the current dataset with no hardcoded values, so any reader can reproduce the ranking from the same public source data. See the methodology page for the full data-update process, source vintage, and field definitions.
The ranked top 10
Every row below reflects the current dataset of 10 qualifying records. Figures update automatically as the source data is refreshed.
| # | ZIP | City | State | Density (per sq mi) | Population | Area (sq mi) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10028 | New York | NY | 55,636 | 45,141 | 0.8 |
| 2 | 10075 | New York | NY | 54,746.3 | 26,121 | 0.5 |
| 3 | 10128 | New York | NY | 50,118.8 | 60,453 | 1.2 |
| 4 | 10025 | New York | NY | 48,594.3 | 94,600 | 1.9 |
| 5 | 10023 | New York | NY | 48,060.9 | 60,998 | 1.3 |
| 6 | 10021 | New York | NY | 44,214.6 | 43,631 | 1 |
| 7 | 10040 | New York | NY | 42,392.8 | 41,905 | 1 |
| 8 | 10026 | New York | NY | 39,504.2 | 34,003 | 0.9 |
| 9 | 10016 | New York | NY | 39,315.3 | 54,183 | 1.4 |
| 10 | 10009 | New York | NY | 38,399.1 | 61,347 | 1.6 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ZIP Code Tabulation Areas Reference Files. Figures reflect the most recently published dataset and update automatically when the source agency issues a revision. U.S. Census Bureau, ZIP Code Tabulation Areas Reference Files. Figures reflect the most recently published dataset and update automatically when the source agency issues a revision.
Findings
Top entity in the ranking
The top-ranked record in this dataset is 10028, with a value of 55,636 on the Density (per sq mi) column. The full top-10 set is rendered in the table above. Every value comes directly from the current dataset; no number is hardcoded into this page. When the U.S. Census Bureau publishes a revision, the ranking and the prose around it update automatically.
Distribution shape
The gap between the top-ranked record (55,636) and the 10th-ranked record (38,399.1) characterizes how concentrated the top of the distribution is. Where the top value is many multiples of the median value of the visible set, the population is highly concentrated, a small number of entities accumulate the bulk of the measured quantity. Where the top and bottom of the visible set are close together, the distribution is relatively flat across the top end. The full distribution beyond this top-10 cut is summarized in the aggregate context section below and explored in the linked entity profiles.
Aggregate context
Across the full population behind this ranking, here are the summary statistics: how many records exist in total, the sum of the ranking metric across all qualifying records, and the mean per-record value. The methodology page documents the exact filter applied (records with null or zero values on the ranking metric are excluded). This aggregate row is computed from the same dataset that powers the ranking above.
Source provenance
The records in this ranking originate from U.S. Census Bureau, specifically the ZIP Code Tabulation Areas Reference Files. PlainZIP ingests the source vintage published by the agency and keeps this page current, there is no static export carrying stale numbers, and a newly published dataset is reflected here within hours. The methodology page documents the source URL, the vintage date, and the steps applied to prepare the data.
Why this ranking matters
Rankings like this one let a reader scan a population quickly and identify outliers, concentrations, and patterns that warrant deeper investigation. The detail pages linked from each entity in the table above give the full per-entity context: time-series history where available, related metrics from adjacent tables, and links onward to the underlying source records. The methodology page explains how an entity earns inclusion in the dataset and how the ranking column is computed at the source.
What this analysis cannot tell us
Population density figures are computed as resident population divided by ZIP land area (square miles) from Census geographic data. High-density ZIPs are typically dense urban districts in Manhattan, central Brooklyn, and other major metropolitan cores, where 5- to 20-story residential buildings concentrate large populations on small footprints. Density does not capture daytime population (commuters, workers, students, tourists) which can be many multiples of resident population in central business districts. Conversely, ZIPs with very large land area can have low computed density even when most residents cluster in a small urbanized portion of the ZIP. Cross-ZIP density comparisons should consider the underlying built-environment differences (high-rise vs. mid-rise vs. single-family neighborhoods) rather than reading density as a single quality-of-place metric.
Secondary cut: largest ZIPs by population
Top 10 ZIPs ranked by absolute resident population, from the same Census source.
- 60629
Chicago
113,916 residents
- 79936
El Paso
111,086 residents
- 11368
Corona
109,931 residents
- 00926
San Juan
108,862 residents
- 90650
Norwalk
105,549 residents
- 90011
Los Angeles
103,892 residents
- 91331
Pacoima
103,689 residents
- 11226
Brooklyn
101,572 residents
- 90201
Bell Gardens
101,279 residents
- 11373
Elmhurst
100,820 residents
What this shows The most populous ZIPs are not always the densest, since several span large suburban or rural land areas that spread their residents across more square miles.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, ZIP Code Tabulation Areas geographic database, https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files.html