ZIP 12561 vs ZIP 12440

This side-by-side compares ZIP 12561 (New Paltz, NY) and ZIP 12440 (High Falls, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 12561 has a population of 18,308 at 119 people per square mile, while ZIP 12440 has 1,980 at 33 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 12561 reports a median household income of $92,288 against $106,553 in ZIP 12440, with per-capita income of $47,513 vs $48,492. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 59.3% in 12561 and 54.3% in 12440. Poverty rate reads 21.4% vs 11.0%, and unemployment 7.1% vs 2.9% — 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 $453,500 in 12561 versus $346,200 in 12440, with median rent of $1,614 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 57.2% vs 74.3%. 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.