ZIP 27938 vs ZIP 27946

This side-by-side compares ZIP 27938 (Gatesville, NC) and ZIP 27946 (Hobbsville, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 27938 has a population of 1,505 at 11 people per square mile, while ZIP 27946 has 1,207 at 11 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 27938 reports a median household income of $65,217 against $74,421 in ZIP 27946, with per-capita income of $29,595 vs $43,412. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 8.4% in 27938 and 16.9% in 27946. Poverty rate reads 11.0% vs 9.9%, and unemployment 11.5% vs 0.0% — 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 $151,200 in 27938 versus $204,400 in 27946, with median rent of $984 and $1,537 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.8% vs 82.5%. 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.