ZIP 28376 vs ZIP 28386

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28376 (Raeford, NC) and ZIP 28386 (Shannon, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28376 has a population of 37,991 at 102 people per square mile, while ZIP 28386 has 6,319 at 54 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 28376 reports a median household income of $66,471 against $31,777 in ZIP 28386, with per-capita income of $33,932 vs $18,096. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.3% in 28376 and 7.9% in 28386. Poverty rate reads 16.6% vs 38.2%, and unemployment 5.7% vs 7.4% — 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 $232,600 in 28376 versus $69,700 in 28386, with median rent of $1,131 and $715 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 72.3% vs 76.3%. 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.