ZIP 23509 vs ZIP 23504

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