ZIP 23038 vs ZIP 23055

This side-by-side compares ZIP 23038 (Columbia, VA) and ZIP 23055 (Fork Union, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 23038 has a population of 1,775 at 9 people per square mile, while ZIP 23055 has 915 at 23 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 23038 reports a median household income of $87,083 against $54,082 in ZIP 23055, with per-capita income of $75,686 vs $40,114. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 34.8% in 23038 and 58.1% in 23055. Poverty rate reads 10.3% vs 3.5%, and unemployment 2.4% 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 $434,400 in 23038 versus $169,600 in 23055, with median rent of $2,105 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 95.3% vs 41.0%. 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.