ZIP 23606 vs ZIP 23601

This side-by-side compares ZIP 23606 (Newport News, VA) and ZIP 23601 (Newport News, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 23606 has a population of 29,283 at 1,207 people per square mile, while ZIP 23601 has 25,127 at 1,296 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 23606 reports a median household income of $72,874 against $71,279 in ZIP 23601, with per-capita income of $40,329 vs $39,216. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 40.3% in 23606 and 29.9% in 23601. Poverty rate reads 12.4% vs 10.3%, and unemployment 5.0% vs 3.3% — 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 $327,200 in 23606 versus $243,800 in 23601, with median rent of $1,377 and $1,340 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 46.6% vs 57.3%. 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.