ZIP 12182 vs ZIP 12121

This side-by-side compares ZIP 12182 (Troy, NY) and ZIP 12121 (Melrose, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 12182 has a population of 14,733 at 414 people per square mile, while ZIP 12121 has 1,916 at 36 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 12182 reports a median household income of $56,984 against $100,461 in ZIP 12121, with per-capita income of $34,057 vs $38,958. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 27.1% in 12182 and 19.2% in 12121. Poverty rate reads 21.5% vs 3.6%, and unemployment 8.9% 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 $212,600 in 12182 versus $297,400 in 12121, with median rent of $994 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 51.6% vs 100.0%. 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.