ZIP 28554 vs ZIP 28538

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28554 (Maury, NC) and ZIP 28538 (Hookerton, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28554 has a population of 243 at 336 people per square mile, while ZIP 28538 has 2,175 at 29 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 28554 reports a median household income of — against $56,953 in ZIP 28538, with per-capita income of — vs $29,164. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 68.6% in 28554 and 13.5% in 28538. Poverty rate reads 0.0% vs 23.1%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 5.6% — 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 — in 28554 versus $114,800 in 28538, with median rent of — and $901 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 100.0% vs 49.2%. 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.