ZIP 12189 vs ZIP 12183

This side-by-side compares ZIP 12189 (Watervliet, NY) and ZIP 12183 (Troy, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 12189 has a population of 17,568 at 1,065 people per square mile, while ZIP 12183 has 2,620 at 1,354 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 12189 reports a median household income of $65,276 against $59,406 in ZIP 12183, with per-capita income of $42,884 vs $49,964. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.1% in 12189 and 26.5% in 12183. Poverty rate reads 14.5% vs 20.6%, and unemployment 3.6% vs 10.4% — 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 $220,600 in 12189 versus $138,300 in 12183, with median rent of $1,115 and $1,084 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 39.7% vs 24.3%. 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.