ZIP 27936 vs ZIP 27920

This side-by-side compares ZIP 27936 (Frisco, NC) and ZIP 27920 (Buxton, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 27936 has a population of 1,091 at 45 people per square mile, while ZIP 27920 has 1,326 at 140 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 27936 reports a median household income of $43,846 against — in ZIP 27920, with per-capita income of $53,850 vs $40,618. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 41.7% in 27936 and 25.5% in 27920. Poverty rate reads 1.1% vs 6.7%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 2.8% — 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 $439,600 in 27936 versus $409,900 in 27920, with median rent of — and $909 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 100.0% vs 74.1%. 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.