ZIP 23421 vs ZIP 23308

This side-by-side compares ZIP 23421 (Parksley, VA) and ZIP 23308 (Bloxom, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 23421 has a population of 4,255 at 51 people per square mile, while ZIP 23308 has 2,106 at 25 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 23421 reports a median household income of $52,759 against $73,750 in ZIP 23308, with per-capita income of $35,075 vs $28,216. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.7% in 23421 and 16.3% in 23308. Poverty rate reads 10.3% vs 11.2%, and unemployment 0.4% vs 3.4% — 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 $188,500 in 23421 versus $138,100 in 23308, with median rent of $916 and $1,063 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 62.8% vs 70.6%. 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.