ZIP 23608 vs ZIP 23602

This side-by-side compares ZIP 23608 (Newport News, VA) and ZIP 23602 (Newport News, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 23608 has a population of 42,917 at 1,548 people per square mile, while ZIP 23602 has 39,676 at 1,143 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 23608 reports a median household income of $71,126 against $79,475 in ZIP 23602, with per-capita income of $35,742 vs $51,569. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 29.0% in 23608 and 37.1% in 23602. Poverty rate reads 14.5% vs 13.2%, and unemployment 6.0% vs 4.1% — 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 $266,500 in 23608 versus $288,200 in 23602, with median rent of $1,265 and $1,511 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 49.6% vs 53.3%. 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.