ZIP 28031 vs ZIP 28078

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28031 (Cornelius, NC) and ZIP 28078 (Huntersville, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28031 has a population of 24,390 at 672 people per square mile, while ZIP 28078 has 52,133 at 316 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 28031 reports a median household income of $113,368 against $120,831 in ZIP 28078, with per-capita income of $78,105 vs $60,767. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 62.4% in 28031 and 56.3% in 28078. Poverty rate reads 5.6% vs 3.3%, and unemployment 2.5% vs 3.3% — 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 $547,400 in 28031 versus $473,900 in 28078, with median rent of $1,747 and $1,820 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.6% vs 71.6%. 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.