ZIP 28642 vs ZIP 28621

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28642 (Jonesville, NC) and ZIP 28621 (Elkin, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28642 has a population of 5,745 at 61 people per square mile, while ZIP 28621 has 10,472 at 58 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 28642 reports a median household income of $44,543 against $53,616 in ZIP 28621, with per-capita income of $31,922 vs $31,190. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.9% in 28642 and 20.3% in 28621. Poverty rate reads 15.3% vs 21.0%, and unemployment 4.9% vs 4.8% — 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 $144,500 in 28642 versus $159,000 in 28621, with median rent of $642 and $783 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 62.3% vs 68.7%. 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.