ZIP 28719 vs ZIP 28789

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28719 (Cherokee, NC) and ZIP 28789 (Whittier, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28719 has a population of 8,048 at 23 people per square mile, while ZIP 28789 has 5,097 at 35 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 28719 reports a median household income of $60,658 against $51,713 in ZIP 28789, with per-capita income of $27,051 vs $32,846. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.7% in 28719 and 24.5% in 28789. Poverty rate reads 17.7% vs 20.6%, and unemployment 9.5% vs 6.8% — 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 $188,400 in 28719 versus $221,600 in 28789, with median rent of $892 and $990 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 73.5% vs 73.0%. 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.