ZIP 27820 vs ZIP 27897

This side-by-side compares ZIP 27820 (Conway, NC) and ZIP 27897 (Woodland, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 27820 has a population of 3,088 at 21 people per square mile, while ZIP 27897 has 2,265 at 20 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 27820 reports a median household income of $50,909 against $56,694 in ZIP 27897, with per-capita income of $28,605 vs $34,228. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 29.7% in 27820 and 5.0% in 27897. Poverty rate reads 18.2% vs 23.9%, and unemployment 9.1% vs 8.7% — 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 $130,500 in 27820 versus $109,200 in 27897, with median rent of $682 and $856 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 72.9% vs 61.4%. 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.