ZIP 27610 vs ZIP 27604

This side-by-side compares ZIP 27610 (Raleigh, NC) and ZIP 27604 (Raleigh, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 27610 has a population of 65,648 at 593 people per square mile, while ZIP 27604 has 42,204 at 755 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 27610 reports a median household income of $67,932 against $70,375 in ZIP 27604, with per-capita income of $31,863 vs $43,575. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.9% in 27610 and 39.9% in 27604. Poverty rate reads 15.7% vs 13.0%, and unemployment 6.7% vs 4.7% — 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 $293,000 in 27610 versus $349,200 in 27604, with median rent of $1,449 and $1,480 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 60.0% vs 54.8%. 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.