ZIP 28206 vs ZIP 28204

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28206 (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 28206 has a population of 11,898 at 651 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 28206 reports a median household income of $61,818 against $92,054 in ZIP 28204, with per-capita income of $39,327 vs $88,392. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 33.9% in 28206 and 77.7% in 28204. Poverty rate reads 20.7% vs 9.1%, and unemployment 4.9% 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 $298,600 in 28206 versus $585,200 in 28204, with median rent of $1,400 and $1,735 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 32.9% 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.