ZIP 28386 vs ZIP 28357

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28386 (Shannon, NC) and ZIP 28357 (Lumber Bridge, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28386 has a population of 6,319 at 54 people per square mile, while ZIP 28357 has 3,125 at 34 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 28386 reports a median household income of $31,777 against $49,116 in ZIP 28357, with per-capita income of $18,096 vs $23,897. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 7.9% in 28386 and 11.3% in 28357. Poverty rate reads 38.2% vs 16.9%, and unemployment 7.4% vs 0.8% — 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 $69,700 in 28386 versus $88,600 in 28357, with median rent of $715 and $938 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.3% vs 78.7%. 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.