ZIP 22546 vs ZIP 22580

This side-by-side compares ZIP 22546 (Ruther Glen, VA) and ZIP 22580 (Woodford, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 22546 has a population of 15,850 at 38 people per square mile, while ZIP 22580 has 5,160 at 22 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 22546 reports a median household income of $89,247 against $93,603 in ZIP 22580, with per-capita income of $39,449 vs $43,939. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.6% in 22546 and 20.7% in 22580. Poverty rate reads 12.1% vs 9.5%, and unemployment 5.3% vs 3.5% — 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 $301,100 in 22546 versus $353,800 in 22580, with median rent of $1,676 and $1,182 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.8% vs 87.4%. 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.