The High Accuracy Satellite Drag Model (HASDM) is the operational thermospheric density model used by the US Space Force (USSF) Combined Space Operations Center (CSpOC). By using real-time data assimilation, HASDM can provide density estimates with increased accuracy over empirical models. With historical HASDM density data being released publicly for the first time, we can analyze the data to identify dominant modes of variations in the upper atmosphere. As HASDM is a close relative to the Jacchia-Bowman 2008 Empirical Thermospheric Density Model (JB2008), we look at time-matched density data to better understand the models’ characteristics. This model comparison is conducted through the use of Principal Component Analysis (PCA). We then compare both datasets to the CHAllenging Minisatellie Payload (CHAMP) and Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) accelerometer-derived density estimates. By looking at the principal components and PCA scores from the two models, we confirm the increased complexity of the HASDM dataset while the CHAMP and GRACE comparisons show that HASDM more closely matches the accelerometer-derived densities with mean absolute differences of 23.81% and 30.84% compared to CHAMP and GRACE-A, respectively.