ZIP 27295 vs ZIP 27299

This side-by-side compares ZIP 27295 (Lexington, NC) and ZIP 27299 (Linwood, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 27295 has a population of 37,211 at 113 people per square mile, while ZIP 27299 has 5,190 at 73 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 27295 reports a median household income of $63,961 against $65,621 in ZIP 27299, with per-capita income of $34,136 vs $33,239. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.6% in 27295 and 15.3% in 27299. Poverty rate reads 9.8% vs 9.3%, and unemployment 2.3% vs 3.5% — 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 $211,300 in 27295 versus $196,500 in 27299, with median rent of $932 and $938 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.5% vs 74.5%. 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.