ZIP 28017 vs ZIP 28152

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28017 (Boiling Springs, NC) and ZIP 28152 (Shelby, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28017 has a population of 695 at 1,562 people per square mile, while ZIP 28152 has 24,735 at 116 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 28017 reports a median household income of — against $57,806 in ZIP 28152, with per-capita income of $6,487 vs $29,158. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is — in 28017 and 25.6% in 28152. Poverty rate reads — vs 17.3%, and unemployment 18.5% vs 6.3% — 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 — in 28017 versus $205,200 in 28152, with median rent of — and $973 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is — vs 65.5%. 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.