ZIP 27863 vs ZIP 27830

This side-by-side compares ZIP 27863 (Pikeville, NC) and ZIP 27830 (Fremont, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 27863 has a population of 11,735 at 67 people per square mile, while ZIP 27830 has 4,755 at 30 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 27863 reports a median household income of $77,933 against $54,129 in ZIP 27830, with per-capita income of $31,555 vs $28,131. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.0% in 27863 and 17.3% in 27830. Poverty rate reads 15.6% vs 15.1%, and unemployment 1.4% vs 2.2% — 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 $212,200 in 27863 versus $162,900 in 27830, with median rent of $1,016 and $877 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.6% vs 64.6%. 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.