ZIP 28604 vs ZIP 28679

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28604 (Banner Elk, NC) and ZIP 28679 (Sugar Grove, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28604 has a population of 6,249 at 37 people per square mile, while ZIP 28679 has 2,064 at 31 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 28604 reports a median household income of $76,319 against $65,246 in ZIP 28679, with per-capita income of $46,313 vs $34,992. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 46.9% in 28604 and 35.1% in 28679. Poverty rate reads 7.7% vs 15.0%, and unemployment 5.3% vs 3.7% — 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 $383,800 in 28604 versus $287,100 in 28679, with median rent of $991 and $1,014 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.8% vs 87.5%. 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.