ZIP 11786 vs ZIP 11961

This side-by-side compares ZIP 11786 (Shoreham, NY) and ZIP 11961 (Ridge, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 11786 has a population of 6,344 at 426 people per square mile, while ZIP 11961 has 12,834 at 385 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 11786 reports a median household income of $163,466 against $76,216 in ZIP 11961, with per-capita income of $59,971 vs $47,541. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 47.8% in 11786 and 28.9% in 11961. Poverty rate reads 3.6% vs 4.1%, and unemployment 4.3% vs 5.3% — 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 $604,700 in 11786 versus $420,800 in 11961, with median rent of $1,809 and $2,044 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 95.7% vs 89.4%. 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.