ZIP 20148 vs ZIP 20166

This side-by-side compares ZIP 20148 (Ashburn, VA) and ZIP 20166 (Sterling, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 20148 has a population of 28,310 at 672 people per square mile, while ZIP 20166 has 9,521 at 211 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 20148 reports a median household income of $233,494 against $133,401 in ZIP 20166, with per-capita income of $83,425 vs $58,048. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 77.7% in 20148 and 65.3% in 20166. Poverty rate reads 3.0% vs 4.1%, and unemployment 2.7% vs 4.0% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $873,700 in 20148 versus $618,800 in 20166, with median rent of $2,690 and $2,362 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.9% vs 49.5%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.