ZIP 27215 vs ZIP 27217

This side-by-side compares ZIP 27215 (Burlington, NC) and ZIP 27217 (Burlington, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 27215 has a population of 38,807 at 241 people per square mile, while ZIP 27217 has 36,954 at 116 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 27215 reports a median household income of $68,825 against $51,950 in ZIP 27217, with per-capita income of $40,851 vs $25,751. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 37.7% in 27215 and 15.5% in 27217. Poverty rate reads 9.5% vs 21.6%, and unemployment 3.4% vs 7.9% — 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 $259,900 in 27215 versus $173,200 in 27217, with median rent of $1,161 and $915 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 59.7% vs 60.2%. 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.