ZIP 28539 vs ZIP 28544

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28539 (Hubert, NC) and ZIP 28544 (Midway Park, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28539 has a population of 15,469 at 122 people per square mile, while ZIP 28544 has 5,368 at 183 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 28539 reports a median household income of $66,976 against $52,354 in ZIP 28544, with per-capita income of $34,291 vs $24,118. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.2% in 28539 and 15.7% in 28544. Poverty rate reads 11.8% vs 16.6%, and unemployment 5.1% vs 7.0% — 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 $230,200 in 28539 versus $141,700 in 28544, with median rent of $1,195 and $1,262 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.2% vs 34.6%. 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.