ZIP 23523 vs ZIP 23504

This side-by-side compares ZIP 23523 (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 23523 has a population of 7,793 at 1,439 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 23523 reports a median household income of $35,533 against $44,659 in ZIP 23504, with per-capita income of $22,230 vs $23,094. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.5% in 23523 and 27.2% in 23504. Poverty rate reads 39.1% vs 36.7%, and unemployment 4.3% 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 $224,600 in 23523 versus $269,400 in 23504, with median rent of $937 and $957 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 33.6% 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.