ZIP 28530 vs ZIP 28513

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28530 (Grifton, NC) and ZIP 28513 (Ayden, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28530 has a population of 7,332 at 40 people per square mile, while ZIP 28513 has 10,346 at 44 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 28530 reports a median household income of $37,361 against $57,285 in ZIP 28513, with per-capita income of $26,694 vs $30,167. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.7% in 28530 and 22.6% in 28513. Poverty rate reads 21.6% vs 15.2%, and unemployment 11.2% vs 5.0% — 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 $151,300 in 28530 versus $161,600 in 28513, with median rent of $824 and $792 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 63.8% vs 75.0%. 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.