ZIP 27551 vs ZIP 27589

This side-by-side compares ZIP 27551 (Macon, NC) and ZIP 27589 (Warrenton, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 27551 has a population of 1,962 at 9 people per square mile, while ZIP 27589 has 8,370 at 19 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 27551 reports a median household income of $59,375 against $46,730 in ZIP 27589, with per-capita income of $47,829 vs $27,477. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.3% in 27551 and 13.5% in 27589. Poverty rate reads 13.3% vs 19.7%, and unemployment 3.7% vs 9.1% — 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 $175,000 in 27551 versus $115,300 in 27589, with median rent of $1,105 and $840 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.0% vs 63.9%. 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.