ZIP 28405 vs ZIP 28403

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28405 (Wilmington, NC) and ZIP 28403 (Wilmington, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28405 has a population of 29,152 at 468 people per square mile, while ZIP 28403 has 36,063 at 989 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 28405 reports a median household income of $70,274 against $54,547 in ZIP 28403, with per-capita income of $49,013 vs $41,022. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 41.0% in 28405 and 48.1% in 28403. Poverty rate reads 13.8% vs 24.8%, and unemployment 5.9% vs 4.8% — 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 $368,500 in 28405 versus $386,700 in 28403, with median rent of $1,440 and $1,380 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 57.6% vs 35.7%. 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.