ZIP 12817 vs ZIP 12860

This side-by-side compares ZIP 12817 (Chestertown, NY) and ZIP 12860 (Pottersville, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 12817 has a population of 2,274 at 16 people per square mile, while ZIP 12860 has 748 at 18 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 12817 reports a median household income of $93,393 against $95,625 in ZIP 12860, with per-capita income of $44,300 vs $45,656. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 41.2% in 12817 and 32.6% in 12860. Poverty rate reads 8.7% vs 6.9%, and unemployment 3.5% vs 10.9% — 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 $327,600 in 12817 versus $215,400 in 12860, with median rent of $816 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.8% vs 91.6%. 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.