Comments on: Get the skinny on your zip

Get the skinny on your zip

konolia — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 05:37:03 -0800

Zipskinny Enter your zip code and get US census info-plus compare with other zip codes.

By: Wolfdog

Wolfdog — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 05:52:37 -0800

It's kinda cool, but anything that has eighteen social bookmarking icons in the margin feels a bit slutty, somehow.

By: Pecinpah

Pecinpah — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 05:53:34 -0800

Damn. That's awesome. Thanks.

By: Eldritch

Eldritch — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 06:06:53 -0800

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.

By: inigo2

inigo2 — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 06:13:37 -0800

Neat site, thanks! (As a pedantic sidenote, it's "ZIP codes"; ZIP is an acronym for "Zone Improvement Plan".)

By: These Premises Are Alarmed

These Premises Are Alarmed — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 06:13:58 -0800

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!

By: breaks the guidelines?

breaks the guidelines? — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 06:16:45 -0800

Interesting data, but the presentation leaves something to be desired. I have trouble actually understanding the information that the data represent.

By: louche mustachio

louche mustachio — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 06:25:15 -0800

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.

By: saladin

saladin — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 06:35:44 -0800

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.

By: ROU_Xenophobe

ROU_Xenophobe — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 07:11:49 -0800

Another fun thing is crime statistics by zip code, available here. My recent move cut the crime rate we deal with by 60--80%.

By: cosmac

cosmac — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 07:14:04 -0800

Can anyone explain 10165? Population of 7 (100% below the poverty line) in the middle of NYC?

By: three blind mice

three blind mice — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 07:14:11 -0800

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.

By: thanotopsis

thanotopsis — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 07:21:55 -0800

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.

By: oaf

oaf — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 07:26:05 -0800

Yes, downward mobility! I see that and raise you $73,987 to $23,150. 35% below the poverty line.

By: octothorpe

octothorpe — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 07:27:36 -0800

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.

By: Lame_username

Lame_username — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 07:29:52 -0800

10165 appears to be less than once city block, Maidson between 41st and 42nd and 41st between Madison and Park.

By: Mach5

Mach5 — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 07:31:26 -0800

cosmac: Looking at Google Earth, 10165's area consists of just one city block, and it looks like its the Library Hotel.

By: Mach5

Mach5 — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 07:33:43 -0800

$99,010 to $13,421. I AM THE WINNAR! also, Below Pov. Line: 1.0% to 46.6%

By: octothorpe

octothorpe — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 07:33:47 -0800

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.

By: Pollomacho

Pollomacho — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 07:39:17 -0800

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.

By: neckro23

neckro23 — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 07:49:40 -0800

cosmac's ZIP code appears to be the Lincoln Buiding, whatever the hell that is.

By: oaf

oaf — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 07:49:59 -0800

Mach5: Can I ask where one or both of those ZIP codes are?

By: iamck

iamck — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 07:51:22 -0800

Yes, downward mobility! Yes, gentrification!

By: Mach5

Mach5 — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 07:53:31 -0800

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.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 08:00:19 -0800

Cool and interesting. I like it, thanks konolia.

By: eddydamascene

eddydamascene — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 08:00:23 -0800

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).

By: blahblahblah

blahblahblah — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 08:03:54 -0800

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?

By: These Premises Are Alarmed

These Premises Are Alarmed — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 08:11:51 -0800

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.

By: octothorpe

octothorpe — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 08:14:42 -0800

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.

By: Pollomacho

Pollomacho — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 08:39:22 -0800

Zip codes were created in the 60's not set. More here.

By: Thorzdad

Thorzdad — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 08:48:35 -0800

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

By: PeterMcDermott

PeterMcDermott — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 08:50:01 -0800

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?

By: boots

boots — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 08:51:24 -0800

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?

By: drezdn

drezdn — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 08:59:11 -0800

Boots, I think it's a government building of some sort. At least, googling "Trenton, NJ 08625" turns up government-office type listings.

By: drezdn

drezdn — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 08:59:46 -0800

Found it, it's the New Jersey State House.

By: boots

boots — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 09:00:55 -0800

That's odd, it also says it has a population of 1834. State senators, perhaps?

By: luser

luser — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 09:06:43 -0800

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.

By: inigo2

inigo2 — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 09:23:02 -0800

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.

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 11:04:29 -0800

Super cool, thanks konolia!

By: honeydew

honeydew — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 14:54:52 -0800

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.

By: CunningLinguist

CunningLinguist — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 16:13:20 -0800

this is really cool, thanks.

By: amberglow

amberglow — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 16:21:42 -0800

this is totally interesting (look how poor my neighborhood is--it's not really very residential tho)

By: Cool Papa Bell

Cool Papa Bell — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 16:55:13 -0800

Medina, WA Bill Gates' neighborhood

By: Eideteker

Eideteker — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 17:46:34 -0800

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.

By: oaf

oaf — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 20:17:23 -0800

You think that's poor, amberglow? It appears to be significantly poorer here.

By: madamjujujive

madamjujujive — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 23:59:09 -0800

thanks, konolia - that's a neat gizmo!

By: Who_Am_I

Who_Am_I — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 07:52:06 -0800

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 :/

By: Pollomacho

Pollomacho — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 10:29:07 -0800

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.

By: Oddly

Oddly — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 19:50:58 -0800

10165 gets more interesting.