ZIP 28379 vs ZIP 28345

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28379 (Rockingham, NC) and ZIP 28345 (Hamlet, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28379 has a population of 26,388 at 66 people per square mile, while ZIP 28345 has 12,592 at 69 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 28379 reports a median household income of $49,149 against $40,957 in ZIP 28345, with per-capita income of $28,384 vs $23,733. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.7% in 28379 and 11.5% in 28345. Poverty rate reads 24.0% vs 25.3%, and unemployment 7.8% vs 6.8% — 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 $157,400 in 28379 versus $97,600 in 28345, with median rent of $802 and $679 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 64.5% vs 61.6%. 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.