ZIP 27909 vs ZIP 27921

This side-by-side compares ZIP 27909 (Elizabeth City, NC) and ZIP 27921 (Camden, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 27909 has a population of 40,699 at 69 people per square mile, while ZIP 27921 has 4,805 at 26 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 27909 reports a median household income of $66,732 against $94,473 in ZIP 27921, with per-capita income of $33,769 vs $43,655. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 27.6% in 27909 and 30.9% in 27921. Poverty rate reads 11.0% vs 4.4%, and unemployment 5.7% vs 5.2% — 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 $234,600 in 27909 versus $341,000 in 27921, with median rent of $1,170 and $1,241 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 67.5% vs 73.5%. 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.