ZIP 24531 vs ZIP 24549

This side-by-side compares ZIP 24531 (Chatham, VA) and ZIP 24549 (Dry Fork, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 24531 has a population of 9,203 at 18 people per square mile, while ZIP 24549 has 4,292 at 33 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 24531 reports a median household income of $43,333 against $55,186 in ZIP 24549, with per-capita income of $26,772 vs $31,109. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.2% in 24531 and 16.8% in 24549. Poverty rate reads 14.8% vs 7.8%, and unemployment 2.7% vs 2.4% — 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 $148,000 in 24531 versus $146,000 in 24549, with median rent of $830 and $1,051 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.1% vs 81.6%. 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.