ZIP 23836 vs ZIP 23831

This side-by-side compares ZIP 23836 (Chester, VA) and ZIP 23831 (Chester, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 23836 has a population of 11,444 at 174 people per square mile, while ZIP 23831 has 33,079 at 530 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 23836 reports a median household income of $100,921 against $95,750 in ZIP 23831, with per-capita income of $48,289 vs $43,948. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 38.1% in 23836 and 36.9% in 23831. Poverty rate reads 4.3% vs 6.5%, and unemployment 3.8% 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 $356,400 in 23836 versus $336,700 in 23831, with median rent of $1,674 and $1,645 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.5% vs 72.1%. 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.