ZIP 12586 vs ZIP 12543

This side-by-side compares ZIP 12586 (Walden, NY) and ZIP 12543 (Maybrook, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 12586 has a population of 12,540 at 204 people per square mile, while ZIP 12543 has 3,001 at 101 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 12586 reports a median household income of $87,194 against $75,583 in ZIP 12543, with per-capita income of $36,144 vs $43,926. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 29.2% in 12586 and 24.4% in 12543. Poverty rate reads 13.2% vs 6.0%, and unemployment 6.5% vs 3.1% — 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 $348,400 in 12586 versus $257,500 in 12543, with median rent of $1,654 and $1,507 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 66.4% vs 49.1%. 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.