ZIP 24458 vs ZIP 24442

This side-by-side compares ZIP 24458 (Mc Dowell, VA) and ZIP 24442 (Head Waters, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 24458 has a population of 442 at 2 people per square mile, while ZIP 24442 has 120 at 1 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 24458 reports a median household income of $54,145 against $69,750 in ZIP 24442, with per-capita income of $31,812 vs $40,106. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 11.8% in 24458 and 70.5% in 24442. Poverty rate reads 4.1% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 8.3% vs 0.0% — 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 $231,300 in 24458 versus — in 24442, with median rent of — and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 100.0% vs 92.6%. 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.