ZIP 23831 vs ZIP 23237

This side-by-side compares ZIP 23831 (Chester, VA) and ZIP 23237 (Richmond, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 23831 has a population of 33,079 at 530 people per square mile, while ZIP 23237 has 21,192 at 400 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 23831 reports a median household income of $95,750 against $79,606 in ZIP 23237, with per-capita income of $43,948 vs $33,374. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 36.9% in 23831 and 23.0% in 23237. Poverty rate reads 6.5% vs 10.4%, and unemployment 3.5% vs 3.5% — 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 $336,700 in 23831 versus $277,100 in 23237, with median rent of $1,645 and $1,295 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 72.1% vs 70.3%. 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.