ZIP 12180 vs ZIP 12144

This side-by-side compares ZIP 12180 (Troy, NY) and ZIP 12144 (Rensselaer, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 12180 has a population of 53,606 at 377 people per square mile, while ZIP 12144 has 20,555 at 419 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 12180 reports a median household income of $75,851 against $90,738 in ZIP 12144, with per-capita income of $41,482 vs $46,062. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 42.0% in 12180 and 38.1% in 12144. Poverty rate reads 17.2% vs 11.0%, and unemployment 7.1% 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 $244,400 in 12180 versus $249,700 in 12144, with median rent of $1,232 and $1,366 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 47.9% vs 59.0%. 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.