ZIP 31030 vs ZIP 31008

This side-by-side compares ZIP 31030 (Fort Valley, GA) and ZIP 31008 (Byron, GA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 31030 has a population of 18,977 at 42 people per square mile, while ZIP 31008 has 18,453 at 102 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 31030 reports a median household income of $59,313 against $83,992 in ZIP 31008, with per-capita income of $28,695 vs $40,026. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.3% in 31030 and 21.6% in 31008. Poverty rate reads 22.8% vs 6.3%, and unemployment 6.3% vs 5.5% — 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 $148,000 in 31030 versus $215,500 in 31008, with median rent of $889 and $1,135 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 60.3% vs 84.7%. 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.