ZIP 28729 vs ZIP 28742

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28729 (Etowah, NC) and ZIP 28742 (Horse Shoe, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28729 has a population of 2,894 at 255 people per square mile, while ZIP 28742 has 2,710 at 43 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 28729 reports a median household income of $84,413 against $99,007 in ZIP 28742, with per-capita income of $39,287 vs $45,313. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 32.8% in 28729 and 46.4% in 28742. Poverty rate reads 4.2% vs 13.6%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 14.1% — 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 $321,000 in 28729 versus $414,600 in 28742, with median rent of $1,714 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.9% vs 79.3%. 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.