ZIP 12054 vs ZIP 12159

This side-by-side compares ZIP 12054 (Delmar, NY) and ZIP 12159 (Slingerlands, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 12054 has a population of 16,918 at 423 people per square mile, while ZIP 12159 has 7,896 at 216 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 12054 reports a median household income of $129,583 against $128,306 in ZIP 12159, with per-capita income of $63,250 vs $80,611. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 69.1% in 12054 and 65.7% in 12159. Poverty rate reads 3.6% vs 4.7%, and unemployment 2.7% vs 3.2% — 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 $354,500 in 12054 versus $449,900 in 12159, with median rent of $1,756 and $1,729 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 73.9% vs 74.6%. 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.