ZIP 12188 vs ZIP 12047

This side-by-side compares ZIP 12188 (Waterford, NY) and ZIP 12047 (Cohoes, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 12188 has a population of 10,980 at 327 people per square mile, while ZIP 12047 has 19,664 at 860 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 12188 reports a median household income of $92,279 against $66,071 in ZIP 12047, with per-capita income of $47,551 vs $42,181. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 32.2% in 12188 and 34.6% in 12047. Poverty rate reads 6.6% vs 21.9%, and unemployment 4.4% vs 5.2% — 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 $281,400 in 12188 versus $246,800 in 12047, with median rent of $1,134 and $1,323 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 73.8% vs 45.7%. 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.