ZIP 23846 vs ZIP 23839

This side-by-side compares ZIP 23846 (Elberon, VA) and ZIP 23839 (Dendron, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 23846 has a population of 933 at 8 people per square mile, while ZIP 23839 has 741 at 11 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 23846 reports a median household income of $94,441 against $59,405 in ZIP 23839, with per-capita income of $69,455 vs $35,891. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.6% in 23846 and 24.2% in 23839. Poverty rate reads 3.8% vs 2.3%, and unemployment 5.2% 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 $272,900 in 23846 versus $185,000 in 23839, with median rent of — and $2,029 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.3% vs 84.0%. 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.