ZIP 12842 vs ZIP 12190

This side-by-side compares ZIP 12842 (Indian Lake, NY) and ZIP 12190 (Wells, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 12842 has a population of 1,166 at 2 people per square mile, while ZIP 12190 has 674 at 2 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 12842 reports a median household income of $58,702 against $74,286 in ZIP 12190, with per-capita income of $46,283 vs $38,592. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 29.9% in 12842 and 19.6% in 12190. Poverty rate reads 5.9% vs 4.6%, and unemployment 4.9% vs 7.9% — 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 $220,200 in 12842 versus $268,600 in 12190, with median rent of $792 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.4% vs 91.7%. 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.