ZIP 23005 vs ZIP 23047

This side-by-side compares ZIP 23005 (Ashland, VA) and ZIP 23047 (Doswell, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 23005 has a population of 15,227 at 87 people per square mile, while ZIP 23047 has 1,952 at 16 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 23005 reports a median household income of $89,335 against $81,136 in ZIP 23047, with per-capita income of $47,746 vs $56,417. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 42.2% in 23005 and 43.0% in 23047. Poverty rate reads 12.6% vs 0.1%, and unemployment 3.8% vs 1.6% — 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 $402,700 in 23005 versus $396,300 in 23047, with median rent of $1,339 and $1,192 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 72.8% vs 84.5%. 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.