ZIP 27520 vs ZIP 27527

This side-by-side compares ZIP 27520 (Clayton, NC) and ZIP 27527 (Clayton, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 27520 has a population of 36,357 at 192 people per square mile, while ZIP 27527 has 18,216 at 161 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 27520 reports a median household income of $86,322 against $115,035 in ZIP 27527, with per-capita income of $41,157 vs $50,056. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 33.4% in 27520 and 47.0% in 27527. Poverty rate reads 6.3% vs 9.3%, and unemployment 3.7% vs 3.4% — 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 $320,900 in 27520 versus $390,200 in 27527, with median rent of $1,605 and $1,823 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 74.3% vs 80.8%. 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.