ZIP 28694 vs ZIP 28626

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28694 (West Jefferson, 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 28694 has a population of 7,744 at 45 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 28694 reports a median household income of $58,486 against $73,675 in ZIP 28626, with per-capita income of $36,615 vs $38,779. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.0% in 28694 and 43.1% in 28626. Poverty rate reads 9.6% vs 10.2%, and unemployment 7.8% 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 $273,200 in 28694 versus $291,900 in 28626, with median rent of $818 and $1,270 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.0% 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.