ZIP 28411 vs ZIP 28480

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28411 (Wilmington, NC) and ZIP 28480 (Wrightsville Beach, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28411 has a population of 31,962 at 295 people per square mile, while ZIP 28480 has 2,473 at 326 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 28411 reports a median household income of $97,387 against $172,500 in ZIP 28480, with per-capita income of $51,389 vs $103,755. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 52.1% in 28411 and 73.8% in 28480. Poverty rate reads 4.3% vs 3.8%, and unemployment 5.3% vs 0.4% — 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 $396,400 in 28411 versus $1,131,800 in 28480, with median rent of $1,778 and $2,336 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.5% vs 81.5%. 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.