ZIP 24574 vs ZIP 24503

This side-by-side compares ZIP 24574 (Monroe, VA) and ZIP 24503 (Lynchburg, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 24574 has a population of 3,977 at 14 people per square mile, while ZIP 24503 has 19,331 at 179 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 24574 reports a median household income of $69,133 against $89,137 in ZIP 24503, with per-capita income of $36,569 vs $51,954. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 31.1% in 24574 and 60.2% in 24503. Poverty rate reads 9.0% vs 7.8%, and unemployment 3.5% vs 2.7% — 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 $221,300 in 24574 versus $347,500 in 24503, with median rent of $907 and $1,053 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 90.4% vs 75.0%. 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.