ZIP 24266 vs ZIP 24224

This side-by-side compares ZIP 24266 (Lebanon, VA) and ZIP 24224 (Castlewood, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 24266 has a population of 9,521 at 30 people per square mile, while ZIP 24224 has 6,734 at 24 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 24266 reports a median household income of $59,875 against $49,894 in ZIP 24224, with per-capita income of $33,178 vs $30,034. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.0% in 24266 and 10.6% in 24224. Poverty rate reads 13.7% vs 19.9%, and unemployment 4.0% vs 3.1% — 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 $150,800 in 24266 versus $120,200 in 24224, with median rent of $631 and $708 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 74.0% vs 79.5%. 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.