ZIP 27962 vs ZIP 27970

This side-by-side compares ZIP 27962 (Plymouth, NC) and ZIP 27970 (Roper, 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 27970 has 3,409 at 12 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 $37,578 in ZIP 27970, with per-capita income of $26,857 vs $31,944. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.0% in 27962 and 22.0% in 27970. Poverty rate reads 25.0% vs 28.2%, and unemployment 11.1% vs 22.4% — 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 $132,200 in 27970, with median rent of $720 and $1,049 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 67.3% vs 68.8%. 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.