ZIP 28403 vs ZIP 28412

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28403 (Wilmington, NC) and ZIP 28412 (Wilmington, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28403 has a population of 36,063 at 989 people per square mile, while ZIP 28412 has 35,573 at 632 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 28403 reports a median household income of $54,547 against $71,636 in ZIP 28412, with per-capita income of $41,022 vs $46,647. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 48.1% in 28403 and 44.4% in 28412. Poverty rate reads 24.8% vs 11.2%, and unemployment 4.8% vs 3.6% — 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 $386,700 in 28403 versus $371,900 in 28412, with median rent of $1,380 and $1,411 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 35.7% vs 58.4%. 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.