ZIP 27893 vs ZIP 27896

This side-by-side compares ZIP 27893 (Wilson, NC) and ZIP 27896 (Wilson, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 27893 has a population of 39,723 at 139 people per square mile, while ZIP 27896 has 20,130 at 225 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 27893 reports a median household income of $42,810 against $75,696 in ZIP 27896, with per-capita income of $24,628 vs $46,684. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 15.2% in 27893 and 36.2% in 27896. Poverty rate reads 29.0% vs 7.0%, and unemployment 9.0% vs 2.3% — 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 $158,600 in 27893 versus $242,700 in 27896, with median rent of $947 and $1,063 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 44.2% vs 72.3%. 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.