ZIP 28746 vs ZIP 28720

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28746 (Lake Lure, NC) and ZIP 28720 (Chimney Rock, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28746 has a population of 2,388 at 20 people per square mile, while ZIP 28720 has 114 at 14 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 28746 reports a median household income of $70,469 against $63,438 in ZIP 28720, with per-capita income of $57,878 vs $64,609. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 46.2% in 28746 and 29.5% in 28720. Poverty rate reads 16.4% vs 7.2%, and unemployment 6.0% vs 0.0% — 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 $470,700 in 28746 versus $445,500 in 28720, with median rent of $892 and $1,717 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.7% vs 65.8%. 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.