ZIP 22802 vs ZIP 22834

This side-by-side compares ZIP 22802 (Harrisonburg, VA) and ZIP 22834 (Linville, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 22802 has a population of 26,293 at 112 people per square mile, while ZIP 22834 has 1,250 at 27 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 22802 reports a median household income of $66,423 against $99,926 in ZIP 22834, with per-capita income of $33,379 vs $47,194. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 30.7% in 22802 and 38.3% in 22834. Poverty rate reads 15.9% vs 0.9%, and unemployment 4.2% vs 0.0% — 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 $280,700 in 22802 versus $378,900 in 22834, with median rent of $1,186 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 55.0% vs 83.0%. 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.