ZIP 27823 vs ZIP 27891

This side-by-side compares ZIP 27823 (Enfield, NC) and ZIP 27891 (Whitakers, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 27823 has a population of 8,201 at 17 people per square mile, while ZIP 27891 has 5,227 at 14 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 27823 reports a median household income of $34,940 against $67,942 in ZIP 27891, with per-capita income of $23,253 vs $29,923. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 8.5% in 27823 and 10.2% in 27891. Poverty rate reads 29.9% vs 14.7%, and unemployment 13.5% vs 10.8% — 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 $89,800 in 27823 versus $146,600 in 27891, with median rent of $725 and $1,082 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 65.2% vs 80.5%. 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.