ZIP 28725 vs ZIP 28779

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28725 (Dillsboro, NC) and ZIP 28779 (Sylva, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28725 has a population of 43 at 61 people per square mile, while ZIP 28779 has 16,111 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 28725 reports a median household income of $57,750 against $57,727 in ZIP 28779, with per-capita income of $41,310 vs $32,438. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 31.1% in 28725 and 27.9% in 28779. Poverty rate reads 18.9% vs 15.2%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 2.6% — 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 — in 28725 versus $243,700 in 28779, with median rent of $1,107 and $827 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 32.1% vs 63.4%. 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.