ZIP 28618 vs ZIP 28626

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28618 (Deep Gap, NC) and ZIP 28626 (Fleetwood, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28618 has a population of 2,352 at 23 people per square mile, while ZIP 28626 has 2,714 at 32 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 28618 reports a median household income of $59,653 against $73,675 in ZIP 28626, with per-capita income of $33,451 vs $38,779. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 34.8% in 28618 and 43.1% in 28626. Poverty rate reads 10.5% vs 10.2%, and unemployment 4.3% vs 2.9% — 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 $338,400 in 28618 versus $291,900 in 28626, with median rent of $1,250 and $1,270 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.4% vs 92.2%. 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.