ZIP 28150 vs ZIP 28089

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28150 (Shelby, NC) and ZIP 28089 (Lattimore, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28150 has a population of 28,098 at 101 people per square mile, while ZIP 28089 has 248 at 386 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 28150 reports a median household income of $55,832 against $75,000 in ZIP 28089, with per-capita income of $32,658 vs $7,688. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.7% in 28150 and 33.3% in 28089. Poverty rate reads 17.1% vs 8.1%, and unemployment 4.3% vs 0.0% — 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 $211,400 in 28150 versus $187,500 in 28089, with median rent of $873 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.2% vs 72.2%. 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.