ZIP 28901 vs ZIP 28905

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28901 (Andrews, NC) and ZIP 28905 (Marble, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28901 has a population of 5,354 at 33 people per square mile, while ZIP 28905 has 3,129 at 27 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 28901 reports a median household income of $44,792 against $57,708 in ZIP 28905, with per-capita income of $27,219 vs $30,678. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.9% in 28901 and 26.5% in 28905. Poverty rate reads 15.7% vs 13.1%, and unemployment 4.6% vs 4.4% — 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 $158,200 in 28901 versus $228,200 in 28905, with median rent of $719 and $1,013 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.1% vs 83.3%. 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.