ZIP 12047 vs ZIP 12189

This side-by-side compares ZIP 12047 (Cohoes, NY) and ZIP 12189 (Watervliet, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 12047 has a population of 19,664 at 860 people per square mile, while ZIP 12189 has 17,568 at 1,065 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 12047 reports a median household income of $66,071 against $65,276 in ZIP 12189, with per-capita income of $42,181 vs $42,884. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 34.6% in 12047 and 28.1% in 12189. Poverty rate reads 21.9% vs 14.5%, and unemployment 5.2% vs 3.6% — 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 $246,800 in 12047 versus $220,600 in 12189, with median rent of $1,323 and $1,115 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 45.7% vs 39.7%. 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.