ZIP 28715 vs ZIP 28806

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28715 (Candler, NC) and ZIP 28806 (Asheville, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28715 has a population of 24,582 at 122 people per square mile, while ZIP 28806 has 38,550 at 392 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 28715 reports a median household income of $71,716 against $63,273 in ZIP 28806, with per-capita income of $39,151 vs $34,589. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 31.0% in 28715 and 45.7% in 28806. Poverty rate reads 11.4% vs 15.1%, and unemployment 3.8% vs 4.2% — 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 $309,000 in 28715 versus $359,200 in 28806, with median rent of $1,216 and $1,239 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.9% vs 59.9%. 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.