ZIP 28334 vs ZIP 28390

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28334 (Dunn, NC) and ZIP 28390 (Spring Lake, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28334 has a population of 24,908 at 60 people per square mile, while ZIP 28390 has 19,942 at 130 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 28334 reports a median household income of $53,036 against $62,972 in ZIP 28390, with per-capita income of $32,862 vs $30,121. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.6% in 28334 and 29.0% in 28390. Poverty rate reads 16.3% vs 17.8%, and unemployment 3.9% vs 4.8% — 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 $176,300 in 28334 versus $219,000 in 28390, with median rent of $830 and $1,249 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.1% vs 49.3%. 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.