ZIP 24368 vs ZIP 24311

This side-by-side compares ZIP 24368 (Rural Retreat, VA) and ZIP 24311 (Atkins, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 24368 has a population of 4,953 at 23 people per square mile, while ZIP 24311 has 1,977 at 19 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 24368 reports a median household income of $73,614 against $48,516 in ZIP 24311, with per-capita income of $33,733 vs $30,058. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.8% in 24368 and 14.5% in 24311. Poverty rate reads 14.1% vs 8.1%, and unemployment 4.2% vs 1.3% — 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 $170,100 in 24368 versus $93,100 in 24311, with median rent of $773 and $800 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.9% vs 74.0%. 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.