ZIP 12438 vs ZIP 12421

This side-by-side compares ZIP 12438 (Halcottsville, NY) and ZIP 12421 (Denver, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 12438 has a population of 59 at 52 people per square mile, while ZIP 12421 has 470 at 9 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 12438 reports a median household income of $78,512 against $100,819 in ZIP 12421, with per-capita income of $26,522 vs $82,560. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 50.7% in 12438 and 44.8% in 12421. Poverty rate reads 11.9% vs 8.4%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 11.0% — 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 — in 12438 versus $372,200 in 12421, with median rent of — and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 40.0% vs 75.2%. 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.