ZIP 24293 vs ZIP 24273

This side-by-side compares ZIP 24293 (Wise, VA) and ZIP 24273 (Norton, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 24293 has a population of 10,791 at 71 people per square mile, while ZIP 24273 has 6,262 at 38 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 24293 reports a median household income of $63,413 against $41,978 in ZIP 24273, with per-capita income of $31,617 vs $26,618. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.1% in 24293 and 11.9% in 24273. Poverty rate reads 12.5% vs 23.0%, and unemployment 6.2% vs 7.5% — 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 $130,800 in 24293 versus $109,300 in 24273, with median rent of $820 and $696 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.0% vs 59.1%. 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.