ZIP 23504 vs ZIP 23509

This side-by-side compares ZIP 23504 (Norfolk, VA) and ZIP 23509 (Norfolk, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 23504 has a population of 23,483 at 2,205 people per square mile, while ZIP 23509 has 12,817 at 1,957 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 23504 reports a median household income of $44,659 against $72,816 in ZIP 23509, with per-capita income of $23,094 vs $41,635. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 27.2% in 23504 and 30.0% in 23509. Poverty rate reads 36.7% vs 15.2%, and unemployment 11.6% vs 5.7% — 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 $269,400 in 23504 versus $258,000 in 23509, with median rent of $957 and $1,326 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 38.9% vs 62.2%. 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.