ZIP 24012 vs ZIP 24017

This side-by-side compares ZIP 24012 (Roanoke, VA) and ZIP 24017 (Roanoke, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 24012 has a population of 29,015 at 548 people per square mile, while ZIP 24017 has 23,392 at 1,008 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 24012 reports a median household income of $52,973 against $47,360 in ZIP 24017, with per-capita income of $31,174 vs $26,985. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.6% in 24012 and 20.0% in 24017. Poverty rate reads 19.9% vs 25.1%, and unemployment 4.4% vs 9.9% — 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 $184,400 in 24012 versus $150,600 in 24017, with median rent of $1,049 and $979 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 52.8% vs 55.0%. 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.