ZIP 28351 vs ZIP 28343

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28351 (Laurel Hill, NC) and ZIP 28343 (Gibson, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28351 has a population of 4,759 at 32 people per square mile, while ZIP 28343 has 1,685 at 36 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 28351 reports a median household income of $50,156 against $29,306 in ZIP 28343, with per-capita income of $28,202 vs $16,803. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.5% in 28351 and 4.1% in 28343. Poverty rate reads 27.9% vs 33.2%, and unemployment 8.5% vs 14.1% — 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 $88,200 in 28351 versus $80,700 in 28343, with median rent of $819 and $765 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 73.0% vs 53.6%. 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.