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Taking a look at the population density of each city by zip code, I put together the below list of the densest zip codes of some select major cities.
This list represents the densest zip code from each city that had a land area of at least one square mile or had a population of at least 10,000 persons. By setting the land area and population criteria, this list avoids zip codes of only university dorms, prisons/jails, or zip codes that contain one or two or three residential buildings. For the zip codes around one square mile, I think this list gives a nice "small cluster of neighborhoods-level" view of the densest zip codes by city.
This list is not based on a certain amount of a city’s population above a certain density level or anything like that – just the densest zip codes from each city that meet the above criteria.
A lot of the zip codes in this list are right around one square mile in land area.
2010 Population Density of Select U.S. Cities by Densest Zip Code:
New York City – 145,616/ sq. mi. in zip code 10028 with a population of 45,141 in 0.31 sq. mi.
San Francisco – 50,993/ sq. mi. in zip code 94108 with a population of 13,768 in 0.27 sq. mi.
Los Angeles – 50,560/sq. mi in zip code 90057 with a population of 44,998 in 0.89 sq. mi.
Boston – 40,058 sq. mi. in zip code 02115 with a population of 28,441 in 0.71 sq. mi.
Washington, DC – 36,358/sq. mi. in zip code 20009 with a population of 47,992 in 1.32 sq. mi.
Philadelphia – 34,231/sq. mi. in zip code 19103 with a population of 21,908 in 0.64 sq. mi.
Honolulu – 28,824/sq. mi. in zip code 96826 with a population of 30,842 in 1.07 sq. mi.
Seattle – 28,700/sq. mi. in zip code 98121 with a population of 12,628 in 0.44 sq. mi.
Chicago – 28,487/sq. mi. in zip code 60601 with a population of 11,110 in 0.39 sq. mi.
Miami – 23,735/sq. mi. in zip code 33130 with a population 26,108 in 1.10 sq. mi.
Denver – 17,607/sq. mi. in zip code 80203 with a population of 18,839 in 1.07 sq. mi.
Baltimore – 15,996/ sq. mi. in zip code 21217 with a population of 37,111 in 2.32 sq. mi.
Houston – 15,439/sq. mi. in zip code 77081 with a population of 47,860 in 3.10 sq. mi.
Austin – 14,245/sq. mi. in zip code 78705 with a population of 31,340 in 2.20 sq. mi.
Portland - 14,238/sq. mi. in zip code 97209 with a population of 14,950 in 1.05 sq. mi.
Atlanta – 9,694/sq. mi. in zip code 30308 with a population of 15,413 in 1.59 sq. mi.
Charlotte – 6,219/sq. mi. in zip code 28202 with a population of 11,195 in 1.80 sq. mi.
Last edited by revitalizer; 07-04-2014 at 04:12 PM..
Seattle doesn't make sense. How can there be 28,700/sq. mi. if the population is only 20,756 and the area is 1.31 sq. miles?
That was a definite typo. Seattle's densest zip code has 12,628 residents with 0.44 land area. The density is correct. Thanks for catching that! I changed the original post and I rechecked the other zip codes.
That was a definite typo. Seattle's densest zip code has 12,628 residents with 0.44 land area. The density is correct. Thanks for catching that! I changed the original post and I rechecked the other zip codes.
Good. I just wanted to throw that in there before your window for editing closed.
What staggers me is that we may think that parts of NYC are dense, and they are for the western world, yet the ~15 square miles of Manila proper has a density of 110,000+/sq. mi and 12,000,000 person Metro Manila has a density of 48,000/sq. mi.
What staggers me is that we may think that parts of NYC are dense, and they are for the western world, yet the ~15 square miles of Manila proper has a density of 110,000+/sq. mi and 12,000,000 person Metro Manila has a density of 48,000/sq. mi.
Now, that's some good perspective to keep in mind as we think of residential density in U.S. cities. I wonder what the dynamics of Manila's population are that contribute to that density level (Number of people per household, average square footage of living space, etc.).
55404 zip is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Latitude: 44.9621978
Longitude: -93.2620112
Population: 27,282
Area: 1.75 sq. miles
Land: 1.75 sq. miles
Water: 0.00 sq. miles
Population Density: 15,590.01 people per sq. mile
There are areas that are .44 square miles like seattle in Minneapolis that also have 20 to 30,000 people per square mile. Who cares if a zip code that covers 6 blocks has a density of 50,000 that's ridiculous.
60626 zip is located in Chicago, Illinois
Latitude: 42.0093402
Longitude: -87.6699015
Population: 59,251
Area: 1.72 sq. miles
Land: 1.72 sq. miles
Water: 0.00 sq. miles
Population Density: 34,520.22 people per sq. mile
60626 zip is located in Chicago, Illinois
Latitude: 42.0093402
Longitude: -87.6699015
Population: 59,251
Area: 1.72 sq. miles
Land: 1.72 sq. miles
Water: 0.00 sq. miles
Population Density: 34,520.22 people per sq. mile
I'm finding out a lot of Chicago's zip codes have a lot of water area, which I failed to take out. The source I am using for the 60626 has the 2010 population for this zip code at 50,139, which gives 29,321/sq. mi. in 1.71 sq. mi.
I should take out the Chicago 60601 zip code and replace it with the 60660 zip code, which has a population density of 33,400 with a population of 42,752 in 1.28 sq. mi. of land.
See below, and I've also added Minneapolis
2010 Population Density of Select U.S. Cities by Densest Zip Code:
New York City – 145,616/ sq. mi. in zip code 10028 with a population of 45,141 in 0.31 sq. mi.
San Francisco – 50,993/ sq. mi. in zip code 94108 with a population of 13,768 in 0.27 sq. mi.
Los Angeles – 50,560/sq. mi in zip code 90057 with a population of 44,998 in 0.89 sq. mi.
Boston – 40,058 sq. mi. in zip code 02115 with a population of 28,441 in 0.71 sq. mi.
Washington, DC – 36,358/sq. mi. in zip code 20009 with a population of 47,992 in 1.32 sq. mi.
Philadelphia – 34,231/sq. mi. in zip code 19103 with a population of 21,908 in 0.64 sq. mi.
Chicago - 33,400/sq. mi. in zip code 60660 with a population of 42,752 in 1.28 sq. mi.
Honolulu – 28,824/sq. mi. in zip code 96826 with a population of 30,842 in 1.07 sq. mi.
Seattle – 28,700/sq. mi. in zip code 98121 with a population of 12,628 in 0.44 sq. mi.
Miami – 23,735/sq. mi. in zip code 33130 with a population 26,108 in 1.10 sq. mi.
Denver – 17,607/sq. mi. in zip code 80203 with a population of 18,839 in 1.07 sq. mi.
Baltimore – 15,996/ sq. mi. in zip code 21217 with a population of 37,111 in 2.32 sq. mi.
Minneapolis - 15,323/ sq. mi. in zip code 55404 with a population of 27,121 in 1.77 sq. mi.
Houston – 15,439/sq. mi. in zip code 77081 with a population of 47,860 in 3.10 sq. mi.
Austin – 14,245/sq. mi. in zip code 78705 with a population of 31,340 in 2.20 sq. mi.
Portland - 14,238/sq. mi. in zip code 97209 with a population of 14,950 in 1.05 sq. mi.
Atlanta – 9,694/sq. mi. in zip code 30308 with a population of 15,413 in 1.59 sq. mi.
Charlotte – 6,219/sq. mi. in zip code 28202 with a population of 11,195 in 1.80 sq. mi.
Last edited by revitalizer; 07-04-2014 at 08:51 PM..
55404 zip is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Latitude: 44.9621978
Longitude: -93.2620112
Population: 27,282
Area: 1.75 sq. miles
Land: 1.75 sq. miles
Water: 0.00 sq. miles
Population Density: 15,590.01 people per sq. mile
There are areas that are .44 square miles like seattle in Minneapolis that also have 20 to 30,000 people per square mile. Who cares if a zip code that covers 6 blocks has a density of 50,000 that's ridiculous.
My list wasn't meant to be a complete list or a ranking. I selected certain criteria for this list, and others may certainly want to use other criteria, which is fine with me.
The main point was to start a conversation. For instance, having others join in and add zip codes from their city. Thanks for adding Minneapolis to the list!
Last edited by revitalizer; 07-04-2014 at 09:06 PM..
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