ZIP 22503 vs ZIP 22576

This side-by-side compares ZIP 22503 (Lancaster, VA) and ZIP 22576 (Weems, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 22503 has a population of 4,334 at 19 people per square mile, while ZIP 22576 has 1,785 at 63 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 22503 reports a median household income of $74,051 against $104,948 in ZIP 22576, with per-capita income of $40,656 vs $52,081. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 35.6% in 22503 and 48.0% in 22576. Poverty rate reads 8.4% vs 13.6%, and unemployment 18.9% vs 7.5% — 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 $272,000 in 22503 versus $414,000 in 22576, with median rent of $1,094 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 90.2% vs 95.2%. 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.