ZIP 12143 vs ZIP 12161

This side-by-side compares ZIP 12143 (Ravena, NY) and ZIP 12161 (South Bethlehem, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 12143 has a population of 5,137 at 102 people per square mile, while ZIP 12161 has 160 at 151 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 12143 reports a median household income of $95,101 against $123,750 in ZIP 12161, with per-capita income of $46,054 vs $55,079. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.4% in 12143 and 63.4% in 12161. Poverty rate reads 7.0% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 3.9% 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 $234,000 in 12143 versus — in 12161, with median rent of $1,150 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.8% vs 70.0%. 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.