ZIP 29838 vs ZIP 29844

This side-by-side compares ZIP 29838 (Modoc, SC) and ZIP 29844 (Parksville, SC) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 29838 has a population of 501 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 29844 has 123 at 14 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 29838 reports a median household income of $97,500 against — in ZIP 29844, with per-capita income of $32,399 vs $42,742. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.4% in 29838 and 16.0% in 29844. Poverty rate reads 32.3% vs 5.4%, and unemployment 4.8% 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 $229,500 in 29838 versus $221,400 in 29844, with median rent of — and $644 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 95.5% vs 84.2%. 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.