ZIP 28105 vs ZIP 28270

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28105 (Matthews, NC) and ZIP 28270 (Charlotte, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28105 has a population of 39,586 at 642 people per square mile, while ZIP 28270 has 31,525 at 965 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 28105 reports a median household income of $108,190 against $131,667 in ZIP 28270, with per-capita income of $49,896 vs $75,801. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 53.5% in 28105 and 67.6% in 28270. Poverty rate reads 6.0% vs 6.2%, and unemployment 2.9% vs 3.9% — 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 $430,800 in 28105 versus $589,500 in 28270, with median rent of $1,765 and $1,763 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 67.6% vs 76.8%. 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.