ZIP 24551 vs ZIP 24523

This side-by-side compares ZIP 24551 (Forest, VA) and ZIP 24523 (Bedford, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 24551 has a population of 20,667 at 117 people per square mile, while ZIP 24523 has 18,952 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 24551 reports a median household income of $91,067 against $73,957 in ZIP 24523, with per-capita income of $44,996 vs $34,838. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 45.9% in 24551 and 25.8% in 24523. Poverty rate reads 8.0% vs 9.1%, and unemployment 2.6% vs 3.6% — 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 $362,500 in 24551 versus $239,800 in 24523, with median rent of $1,265 and $810 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.5% vs 80.3%. 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.