ZIP 28640 vs ZIP 28629

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28640 (Jefferson, NC) and ZIP 28629 (Glendale Springs, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28640 has a population of 4,719 at 47 people per square mile, while ZIP 28629 has 75 at 12 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 28640 reports a median household income of $53,155 against — in ZIP 28629, with per-capita income of $34,864 vs $38,101. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.0% in 28640 and 0.0% in 28629. Poverty rate reads 14.8% vs 19.4%, and unemployment 3.9% vs 0.0% — 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 $282,900 in 28640 versus — in 28629, with median rent of $797 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 72.2% vs 84.4%. 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.