ZIP 28774 vs ZIP 28717

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28774 (Sapphire, NC) and ZIP 28717 (Cashiers, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28774 has a population of 1,013 at 9 people per square mile, while ZIP 28717 has 1,729 at 13 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 28774 reports a median household income of $154,635 against $76,085 in ZIP 28717, with per-capita income of $83,680 vs $66,093. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 68.3% in 28774 and 43.7% in 28717. Poverty rate reads 3.2% vs 3.0%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 0.5% — 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 $797,900 in 28774 versus $440,000 in 28717, with median rent of — and $1,421 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.6% vs 72.3%. 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.