Get the skinny on your zip
October 17, 2007 5:37 AM   Subscribe

Zipskinny Enter your zip code and get US census info-plus compare with other zip codes.
posted by konolia (48 comments total) 26 users marked this as a favorite
 
It's kinda cool, but anything that has eighteen social bookmarking icons in the margin feels a bit slutty, somehow.
posted by Wolfdog at 5:52 AM on October 17, 2007 [3 favorites]


Damn. That's awesome. Thanks.
posted by Pecinpah at 5:53 AM on October 17, 2007


Interesting stuff, but it should be noted that the Census data that's tabulated here is based on Zip Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs), not actual zip codes. The Census Bureau has information on ZCTAs, but the thumbnail is that zip codes aren't terribly consistent (some zip codes include, geographically, other entire zip codes, and some zip codes are spread geographically across multiple areas, inside the boundaries of other codes), and therefore are difficult to reconcile with Census geography and tabulations. Very similar to Zip Codes, but not exactly the same thing. (And unique zip codes, like for warehouses or big companies, don't have any population at all!)

Also, it's a fun front end, but all the demographic and socioeconomic data is available from American FactFinder, the Census Bureau's online data tool. Just choose "Fact Sheet" for the general stuff, or "Data Sets" for detailed tables and multiple geographies.
posted by Eldritch at 6:06 AM on October 17, 2007 [1 favorite]


Neat site, thanks!

(As a pedantic sidenote, it's "ZIP codes"; ZIP is an acronym for "Zone Improvement Plan".)
posted by inigo2 at 6:13 AM on October 17, 2007


Median income for the zip I grew up in: $77,730
Median income for the zip I live in now: $29,044

Yes, downward mobility!
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 6:13 AM on October 17, 2007 [1 favorite]


Interesting data, but the presentation leaves something to be desired. I have trouble actually understanding the information that the data represent.
posted by breaks the guidelines? at 6:16 AM on October 17, 2007


It was sort of like looking at the current weather for me. It gives me more detailed data, but I can look out the window and tell you my neighborhood sucks.
posted by louche mustachio at 6:25 AM on October 17, 2007 [1 favorite]


Wow, the difference in population density between the ZIP code where I grew up and the one I currently inhabit is startling: 297 per square mile vs. 90,000 per square mile.

Neat site, thanks konolia.
posted by saladin at 6:35 AM on October 17, 2007


Another fun thing is crime statistics by zip code, available here. My recent move cut the crime rate we deal with by 60--80%.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:11 AM on October 17, 2007


Can anyone explain 10165? Population of 7 (100% below the poverty line) in the middle of NYC?
posted by cosmac at 7:14 AM on October 17, 2007


My friend always said his hometown of Hecla, South Dakota was the whitest town in America. Survey says:

White*: 98.7%

That's pretty white.
posted by three blind mice at 7:14 AM on October 17, 2007


That's pretty white.

My little suburb is apparently 97% white, so on a scale of whiteness, Hecla, SD, isn't all that bad, I suppose.
posted by thanotopsis at 7:21 AM on October 17, 2007


Yes, downward mobility!

I see that and raise you $73,987 to $23,150. 35% below the poverty line.
posted by oaf at 7:26 AM on October 17, 2007


These Premises Are Alarmed: "Median income for the zip I grew up in: $77,730
Median income for the zip I live in now: $29,044

Yes, downward mobility!
"

Ha, I got you beat there: $81,621 -> $23,841. Which explains why I don't live in the town I grew up in, I can't afford to.
posted by octothorpe at 7:27 AM on October 17, 2007


10165 appears to be less than once city block, Maidson between 41st and 42nd and 41st between Madison and Park.
posted by Lame_username at 7:29 AM on October 17, 2007


cosmac: Looking at Google Earth, 10165's area consists of just one city block, and it looks like its the Library Hotel.
posted by Mach5 at 7:31 AM on October 17, 2007


$99,010 to $13,421.

I AM THE WINNAR!
also, Below Pov. Line: 1.0% to 46.6%
posted by Mach5 at 7:33 AM on October 17, 2007


Wow, my current zip only has 4,876 residents, and I live in the middle of the city. That says something about rust-belt de-population.
posted by octothorpe at 7:33 AM on October 17, 2007


Wow, my current zip only has 4,876 residents, and I live in the middle of the city. That says something about rust-belt de-population.

Or the abundance of zip codes in cities.
posted by Pollomacho at 7:39 AM on October 17, 2007


cosmac's ZIP code appears to be the Lincoln Buiding, whatever the hell that is.
posted by neckro23 at 7:49 AM on October 17, 2007


Mach5: Can I ask where one or both of those ZIP codes are?
posted by oaf at 7:49 AM on October 17, 2007


Yes, downward mobility!

Yes, gentrification!
posted by iamck at 7:51 AM on October 17, 2007


oaf: sure! i went from white-bread hunterdon county, NJ (one of the richest counties in the US) to college at NJIT in beautiful Newark, NJ. I live in NYC now so it averaged out with a median income of $40k. 08801 > 07102 > 10009.
posted by Mach5 at 7:53 AM on October 17, 2007


Cool and interesting. I like it, thanks konolia.
posted by nickyskye at 8:00 AM on October 17, 2007


Wow, the difference in population density between the ZIP code where I grew up and the one I currently inhabit is startling: 297 per square mile vs. 90,000 per square mile.

If you can believe it, I have a ratio almost 50% higher (90 vs 40k).
posted by eddydamascene at 8:00 AM on October 17, 2007


Some weird stuff: take a look at graduate education: one zip code in South Harwich, MA has 6 people who earn a median income of $16,250. One house of starving scholars?
posted by blahblahblah at 8:03 AM on October 17, 2007


Somewhat at random, I thought there was some scrubbing of census data when broken down like this to make it difficult to figure out any one outlier's salary, for example, if they were in a low-population county. The theory behind that has always interested me, but I've never really looked into it.

And I think I have been a force for gentrification before (or at least, I got priced out of Jamaica Plain once), but not so much now. My neighborhood isn't changing, and we don't live here for the hipness or low rent, just because it's across the street from where my wife works.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 8:11 AM on October 17, 2007


Pollomacho: "Wow, my current zip only has 4,876 residents, and I live in the middle of the city. That says something about rust-belt de-population.

Or the abundance of zip codes in cities.
"

I'm pretty sure that it had ~20,000 in the sixties when the zip code were set. Urban renewal, industrial collapse, white flight and highway construction have all taken their toll from my neighborhood.
posted by octothorpe at 8:14 AM on October 17, 2007


Zip codes were created in the 60's not set. More here.
posted by Pollomacho at 8:39 AM on October 17, 2007


Current ZIP:
Population:31032
Unemployed: 7.3%
Below Poverty Line: 22.5%
Median Household Income: $29,274

ZIP I grew up in:
Population:36501
Unemployed: 3.7%
Below Poverty Line: 7%
Median Household Income: $38,048
posted by Thorzdad at 8:48 AM on October 17, 2007


Can anyone explain 10165?

7 people in 3 housing units with a median income of $2,499? Are they counting homeless people in cardboard boxes?
posted by PeterMcDermott at 8:50 AM on October 17, 2007


What the hell is the deal with 08625 in Trenton, NJ? Apparently, it is the 4th densest zip code in the US, with more than 100,000 people per square mile. But it only has an area of 0.02 square miles.

Google maps shows a sinister looking compound. Is this a housing project? A prison?
posted by boots at 8:51 AM on October 17, 2007


Boots, I think it's a government building of some sort. At least, googling "Trenton, NJ 08625" turns up government-office type listings.
posted by drezdn at 8:59 AM on October 17, 2007


Found it, it's the New Jersey State House.
posted by drezdn at 8:59 AM on October 17, 2007


That's odd, it also says it has a population of 1834. State senators, perhaps?
posted by boots at 9:00 AM on October 17, 2007


Looking at the outliers in this data set (top 10, bottom 10, etc.) is pretty useless, as shown above -- a zip code can consist of a single floor of a building that gets a ton of mail.
posted by luser at 9:06 AM on October 17, 2007


Looking at the outliers in this data set (top 10, bottom 10, etc.) is pretty useless, as shown above -- a zip code can consist of a single floor of a building that gets a ton of mail.

Plus, remember, this data is 7 years old
For example: 10048, World Trade Center.
posted by inigo2 at 9:23 AM on October 17, 2007 [1 favorite]


Super cool, thanks konolia!
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 11:04 AM on October 17, 2007


Holy shit. The zip code that starts about five blocks away has a median income of $7,448. Even in New Orleans, that's horrific.
posted by honeydew at 2:54 PM on October 17, 2007


this is really cool, thanks.
posted by CunningLinguist at 4:13 PM on October 17, 2007


this is totally interesting (look how poor my neighborhood is--it's not really very residential tho)
posted by amberglow at 4:21 PM on October 17, 2007


Medina, WA

Bill Gates' neighborhood
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 4:55 PM on October 17, 2007


I found the "compare zip codes" thing interesting, esp. when looking at posh 01701 compared with ghetto 01702. MA doesn't play around when it divides its cities by ZIP. These blue bloods zone off the "bad neighborhoods" pretty clearly.
posted by Eideteker at 5:46 PM on October 17, 2007


You think that's poor, amberglow? It appears to be significantly poorer here.
posted by oaf at 8:17 PM on October 17, 2007


thanks, konolia - that's a neat gizmo!
posted by madamjujujive at 11:59 PM on October 17, 2007


Can anyone explain 10165?

7 people in 3 housing units with a median income of $2,499? Are they counting homeless people in cardboard boxes?


Also note: Educational Achievement - Bachelor's or higher: 100%

Sounds like grad students to me :/
posted by Who_Am_I at 7:52 AM on October 18, 2007


Holy shit. The zip code that starts about five blocks away has a median income of $7,448. Even in New Orleans, that's horrific.

And we're talking pre-Katrina too.
posted by Pollomacho at 10:29 AM on October 18, 2007


10165 gets more interesting.
posted by Oddly at 7:50 PM on October 22, 2007


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