ZIP Code 95521 — Arcata, California

The median home in 95521 is valued at $441,900 against a median household income of $47,764, a price-to-income ratio of 9.3. That is above the 6.7 median across the 1,558 California ZIP codes with published housing data, and well past the 3.0 ratio that marks an attainable market nationally, so buying here on a local median income requires substantial savings or a second income. Within Humboldt County, 95521 ranks 21 of 26 ZIPs on affordability (1 = lowest ratio); the county median ratio is 7.2. Renting takes 31.4% of median household income (median rent $1,251 a month), above the 30% cost-burden threshold.

95521 ranks 1,443 of 1,558 statewide on median household income and 1,037 of 1,558 on median home value; its income is below the $60,178 Humboldt County median. 37% of households own their home, below the 64% statewide ZIP median, so most residents rent. 46% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, above the 31% median, and the poverty rate is 31.5%, far above the 10.8% statewide ZIP median and among the highest in the state. Unemployment stands at 12.7%.

With 359 residents per square mile across 60.4 square miles of land, 95521 is far less dense than the statewide ZIP median of 1,120 (rank 957 of 1,558). This is a low-density pattern of large lots, small towns or scattered subdivisions.