ZIP 28607 vs ZIP 28604

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28607 (Boone, NC) and ZIP 28604 (Banner Elk, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28607 has a population of 33,059 at 129 people per square mile, while ZIP 28604 has 6,249 at 37 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 28607 reports a median household income of $46,639 against $76,319 in ZIP 28604, with per-capita income of $29,503 vs $46,313. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 54.4% in 28607 and 46.9% in 28604. Poverty rate reads 34.4% vs 7.7%, and unemployment 10.0% vs 5.3% — 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 $378,600 in 28607 versus $383,800 in 28604, with median rent of $1,152 and $991 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 50.2% vs 81.8%. 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.