PlainZIP

Forest City, NC

Single-footprint Census roll-up for Forest City, NC: 1 USPS ZIP, population 21,055. Open the primary ZIP for household income, housing tenure, and commute from ACS 2023 5-Year Estimates.

U.S. Census Bureau, SimpleMaps US ZIP Code Database, delivery-area ZIP coverage

ACS city ledger plate

Sheet FOREST-CITY-NC · Forest City, NC 1 ZIPs · 21,055 pop · #23575/25278 · Rutherford County

INC-LOW · RANK-BOTTOM · ABOVE-PEER · BOOK-ONE · OWN-LOW · POP-TOWN · SPREAD-UNK · HOME-LOW

  • INC-LOW $42,276
  • RANK-BOTTOM #23575/25278
  • ABOVE-PEER over Spindale
  • BOOK-ONE 1 ZIP
  • OWN-LOW 64% owners
  • POP-TOWN 21,055
  • SPREAD-UNK Single-ZIP book
  • HOME-LOW $175,400

Nearest income peer: Spindale, NC ( $1,408 income $)

Instrument codes from this city’s ACS household income, national rank, county-peer gap, ZIP book, owner tenure, population scale, intra-city income spread, and home-value band, not a moving recommendation.

Income neighbourhood around Forest City

Lowest/highest poles plus county-sharing cities nearest Forest City on average ZIP median household income. Full ladder: /cities.

median HH income

What this shows County-sharing peers only, not the full US city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the mosaic is wide.

Source U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 5-Year Estimates As of 2026-08-25

National city placement

According to ACS 5-Year Estimates, Forest City, NC sits among US cities with one of the lowest household incomes among US cities, on a town-scale population base, across a single-ZIP footprint.

7th pct
household income vs 25,278 US cities
21,055
city population (Census)
1
USPS ZIP codes covered
$42,276
avg ZIP median income

Income percentile ranks this city's average ZIP median household income against 25,278 US cities with ACS income on at least one ZIP. Scale and ZIP-spread words come from Census population and USPS ZIP coverage.

Lower-income footing on only 1 ZIP ($42,276 average) · poverty 22.3%. The primary code (28043) carries the ACS household fields that matter.

Owner-occupancy is comparatively low (64.4%) for this income tier, rent $783 may matter more than the home-value average.

Within North Carolina, Whiteville is the closest lower-income city and Engelhard the closest higher-income city by average ZIP household income. Their 1 and 1 ZIP footprints are the immediate statewide comparison set for Forest City.

Population concentration

Forest City's single ZIP 28043 carries the town

Forest City is published as a single USPS ZIP. Code 28043 is the entire residential footprint (21,055 ACS residents), so the city page and the ZIP page tell the same household story, open that ZIP for income, tenure, and commute detail.

Census ZBP business roll-up

Mid-pack ZBP load on Forest City's one ZIP

Citywide ZBP: 506 establishments, 7,997 employees , annual payroll $307,936k (~24 establishments per 1,000 residents) across 1 of 1 ZIPs. Peak business ZIP 28043 (506 units) ; leading NAICS Retail trade (113) · also Health care and social assistance · Other services (except public administration) .

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ZIP Codes in Forest City, NC

These ZIP codes sit in Rutherford County, which covers 11 ZIP codes in all; 1 of them fall in Forest City. See the Rutherford County roll-up →

Forest City sits in the lower half of Rutherford County on income: Rutherfordton, Ellenboro and Mooresboro report more, and only Spindale reports less. Lake Lure marks the far end of that range at $70,469, 67% above Forest City.

ZIP Code Population Median income Establishments Density
28043 21,055 $42,276 506 128
How we build city roll-ups · Guide: reading ZIP code data · BLS wages

Forest City roll-ups here are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial or relocation advice. ACS and Census ZBP figures are estimates; confirm the current table against Census before a money or move decision involving Forest City, .