ZIP 28906 vs ZIP 28901

This side-by-side compares ZIP 28906 (Murphy, NC) and ZIP 28901 (Andrews, NC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 28906 has a population of 18,475 at 21 people per square mile, while ZIP 28901 has 5,354 at 33 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 28906 reports a median household income of $55,759 against $44,792 in ZIP 28901, with per-capita income of $32,506 vs $27,219. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.0% in 28906 and 17.9% in 28901. Poverty rate reads 11.6% vs 15.7%, and unemployment 3.9% vs 4.6% — 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 $250,300 in 28906 versus $158,200 in 28901, with median rent of $797 and $719 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.2% vs 81.1%. 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.