ZIP 20165 vs ZIP 20164

This side-by-side compares ZIP 20165 (Sterling, VA) and ZIP 20164 (Sterling, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 20165 has a population of 32,383 at 1,273 people per square mile, while ZIP 20164 has 37,747 at 1,966 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 20165 reports a median household income of $183,076 against $135,660 in ZIP 20164, with per-capita income of $74,859 vs $48,314. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 67.4% in 20165 and 37.6% in 20164. Poverty rate reads 3.1% vs 7.5%, and unemployment 4.0% vs 3.9% — 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 $704,800 in 20165 versus $544,300 in 20164, with median rent of $2,531 and $2,251 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.6% vs 75.1%. 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.