ZIP 22427 vs ZIP 22538

This side-by-side compares ZIP 22427 (Bowling Green, VA) and ZIP 22538 (Rappahannock Academy, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 22427 has a population of 3,286 at 8 people per square mile, while ZIP 22538 has 307 at 9 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 22427 reports a median household income of $81,488 against — in ZIP 22538, with per-capita income of $34,642 vs $37,645. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.7% in 22427 and 20.4% in 22538. Poverty rate reads 12.1% vs 5.7%, and unemployment 2.9% vs 16.0% — 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 $315,700 in 22427 versus $326,600 in 22538, with median rent of $978 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 59.8% vs 100.0%. 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.