ZIP 28779 vs ZIP 28725

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28779 (Sylva, NC) and ZIP 28725 (Dillsboro, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28779 has a population of 16,111 at 58 people per square mile, while ZIP 28725 has 43 at 61 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 28779 reports a median household income of $57,727 against $57,750 in ZIP 28725, with per-capita income of $32,438 vs $41,310. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 27.9% in 28779 and 31.1% in 28725. Poverty rate reads 15.2% vs 18.9%, and unemployment 2.6% 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 $243,700 in 28779 versus — in 28725, with median rent of $827 and $1,107 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 63.4% vs 32.1%. 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.