ZIP 23602 vs ZIP 23606

This side-by-side compares ZIP 23602 (Newport News, VA) and ZIP 23606 (Newport News, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 23602 has a population of 39,676 at 1,143 people per square mile, while ZIP 23606 has 29,283 at 1,207 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 23602 reports a median household income of $79,475 against $72,874 in ZIP 23606, with per-capita income of $51,569 vs $40,329. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 37.1% in 23602 and 40.3% in 23606. Poverty rate reads 13.2% vs 12.4%, and unemployment 4.1% vs 5.0% — 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 $288,200 in 23602 versus $327,200 in 23606, with median rent of $1,511 and $1,377 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 53.3% vs 46.6%. 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.