ZIP 28622 vs ZIP 28604

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28622 (Elk Park, 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 28622 has a population of 2,527 at 32 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 28622 reports a median household income of $44,028 against $76,319 in ZIP 28604, with per-capita income of $29,507 vs $46,313. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.6% in 28622 and 46.9% in 28604. Poverty rate reads 25.3% vs 7.7%, and unemployment 5.0% 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 $169,900 in 28622 versus $383,800 in 28604, with median rent of $709 and $991 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 73.3% 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.