ZIP 12209 vs ZIP 12202

This side-by-side compares ZIP 12209 (Albany, NY) and ZIP 12202 (Albany, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 12209 has a population of 10,121 at 1,825 people per square mile, while ZIP 12202 has 9,628 at 1,817 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 12209 reports a median household income of $89,390 against $52,868 in ZIP 12202, with per-capita income of $42,042 vs $28,446. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 46.9% in 12209 and 29.7% in 12202. Poverty rate reads 7.5% vs 31.4%, and unemployment 3.7% vs 15.0% — 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 $217,100 in 12209 versus $166,000 in 12202, with median rent of $1,198 and $1,064 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 66.0% vs 25.6%. 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.