ZIP 12901 vs ZIP 12972

This side-by-side compares ZIP 12901 (Plattsburgh, NY) and ZIP 12972 (Peru, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 12901 has a population of 33,439 at 170 people per square mile, while ZIP 12972 has 6,364 at 30 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 12901 reports a median household income of $60,942 against $125,373 in ZIP 12972, with per-capita income of $37,849 vs $48,980. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 33.2% in 12901 and 34.1% in 12972. Poverty rate reads 18.2% vs 8.8%, and unemployment 4.7% vs 1.4% — 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 $189,400 in 12901 versus $201,700 in 12972, with median rent of $1,002 and $1,057 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 54.6% vs 85.4%. 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.