ZIP 28205 vs ZIP 28204

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28205 (Charlotte, NC) and ZIP 28204 (Charlotte, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28205 has a population of 43,931 at 1,435 people per square mile, while ZIP 28204 has 4,796 at 1,071 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 28205 reports a median household income of $75,622 against $92,054 in ZIP 28204, with per-capita income of $53,446 vs $88,392. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 47.8% in 28205 and 77.7% in 28204. Poverty rate reads 16.5% vs 9.1%, and unemployment 5.3% vs 3.7% — 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 $457,200 in 28205 versus $585,200 in 28204, with median rent of $1,460 and $1,735 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 42.5% vs 28.4%. 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.