ZIP 12851 vs ZIP 12857

This side-by-side compares ZIP 12851 (Minerva, NY) and ZIP 12857 (Olmstedville, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 12851 has a population of 366 at 1 people per square mile, while ZIP 12857 has 498 at 5 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 12851 reports a median household income of $73,750 against $68,500 in ZIP 12857, with per-capita income of $45,632 vs $42,713. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 29.7% in 12851 and 34.6% in 12857. Poverty rate reads 10.2% vs 8.4%, and unemployment 5.8% vs 0.0% — 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 $160,900 in 12851 versus $203,800 in 12857, with median rent of — and $790 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 90.9% vs 88.8%. 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.