ZIP 28214 vs ZIP 28208

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28214 (Charlotte, NC) and ZIP 28208 (Charlotte, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28214 has a population of 34,721 at 410 people per square mile, while ZIP 28208 has 34,167 at 599 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 28214 reports a median household income of $86,447 against $55,431 in ZIP 28208, with per-capita income of $37,897 vs $34,791. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 37.0% in 28214 and 26.8% in 28208. Poverty rate reads 9.8% vs 19.4%, and unemployment 6.8% vs 7.2% — 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 $295,800 in 28214 versus $236,300 in 28208, with median rent of $1,696 and $1,244 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.7% vs 39.4%. 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.