ZIP 28658 vs ZIP 28613

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28658 (Newton, NC) and ZIP 28613 (Conover, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28658 has a population of 27,022 at 142 people per square mile, while ZIP 28613 has 22,759 at 206 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 28658 reports a median household income of $72,042 against $58,707 in ZIP 28613, with per-capita income of $37,267 vs $30,861. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.4% in 28658 and 21.6% in 28613. Poverty rate reads 9.5% vs 14.2%, and unemployment 4.6% vs 3.8% — 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 $214,000 in 28658 versus $230,100 in 28613, with median rent of $948 and $883 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.1% vs 73.8%. 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.