ZIP 27962 vs ZIP 27860

This side-by-side compares ZIP 27962 (Plymouth, NC) and ZIP 27860 (Pantego, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 27962 has a population of 7,792 at 34 people per square mile, while ZIP 27860 has 2,246 at 6 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 27962 reports a median household income of $41,774 against $62,083 in ZIP 27860, with per-capita income of $26,857 vs $24,812. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.0% in 27962 and 14.3% in 27860. Poverty rate reads 25.0% vs 9.4%, and unemployment 11.1% vs 0.8% — 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 $114,500 in 27962 versus $145,300 in 27860, with median rent of $720 and $1,045 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 67.3% vs 71.7%. 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.