ZIP 23832 vs ZIP 23236

This side-by-side compares ZIP 23832 (Chesterfield, VA) and ZIP 23236 (Richmond, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 23832 has a population of 33,739 at 329 people per square mile, while ZIP 23236 has 25,822 at 687 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 23832 reports a median household income of $111,684 against $110,499 in ZIP 23236, with per-capita income of $43,657 vs $49,401. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 41.1% in 23832 and 47.3% in 23236. Poverty rate reads 5.6% vs 4.3%, and unemployment 4.1% vs 4.0% — 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 $363,000 in 23832 versus $346,900 in 23236, with median rent of $1,830 and $1,811 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.7% vs 84.2%. 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.