ZIP 28756 vs ZIP 28746

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28756 (Mill Spring, NC) and ZIP 28746 (Lake Lure, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28756 has a population of 4,504 at 19 people per square mile, while ZIP 28746 has 2,388 at 20 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 28756 reports a median household income of $63,663 against $70,469 in ZIP 28746, with per-capita income of $35,547 vs $57,878. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.4% in 28756 and 46.2% in 28746. Poverty rate reads 18.1% vs 16.4%, and unemployment 6.7% vs 6.0% — 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 $277,600 in 28756 versus $470,700 in 28746, with median rent of $644 and $892 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.1% vs 88.7%. 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.