ZIP 28169 vs ZIP 28021

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28169 (Waco, NC) and ZIP 28021 (Cherryville, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28169 has a population of 173 at 119 people per square mile, while ZIP 28021 has 13,612 at 84 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 28169 reports a median household income of — against $63,429 in ZIP 28021, with per-capita income of $23,534 vs $32,226. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.3% in 28169 and 21.7% in 28021. Poverty rate reads 1.9% vs 12.7%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 3.1% — 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 $70,000 in 28169 versus $217,400 in 28021, with median rent of — and $1,010 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.6% vs 74.1%. 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.