ZIP 22903 vs ZIP 22902

This side-by-side compares ZIP 22903 (Charlottesville, VA) and ZIP 22902 (Charlottesville, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 22903 has a population of 38,229 at 195 people per square mile, while ZIP 22902 has 21,223 at 131 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 22903 reports a median household income of $69,340 against $93,463 in ZIP 22902, with per-capita income of $51,513 vs $60,883. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 66.4% in 22903 and 59.4% in 22902. Poverty rate reads 21.1% vs 9.2%, and unemployment 4.4% vs 2.5% — 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 $526,200 in 22903 versus $436,200 in 22902, with median rent of $1,580 and $1,659 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 42.2% vs 53.2%. 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.