ZIP 28027 vs ZIP 28081

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28027 (Concord, NC) and ZIP 28081 (Kannapolis, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28027 has a population of 55,435 at 312 people per square mile, while ZIP 28081 has 25,190 at 319 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 28027 reports a median household income of $92,219 against $71,665 in ZIP 28081, with per-capita income of $45,345 vs $36,399. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 43.3% in 28027 and 26.2% in 28081. Poverty rate reads 9.6% vs 11.1%, and unemployment 4.9% vs 3.2% — 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 $372,400 in 28027 versus $285,100 in 28081, with median rent of $1,561 and $1,173 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 64.0% vs 73.5%. 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.