ZIP 28443 vs ZIP 28445

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28443 (Hampstead, NC) and ZIP 28445 (Holly Ridge, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28443 has a population of 17,512 at 59 people per square mile, while ZIP 28445 has 5,676 at 42 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 28443 reports a median household income of $90,477 against $84,016 in ZIP 28445, with per-capita income of $42,804 vs $54,773. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 39.8% in 28443 and 45.6% in 28445. Poverty rate reads 7.8% vs 3.4%, and unemployment 5.1% 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 $391,900 in 28443 versus $386,100 in 28445, with median rent of $1,447 and $1,151 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.6% vs 83.1%. 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.