ZIP 12939 vs ZIP 12976

This side-by-side compares ZIP 12939 (Gabriels, NY) and ZIP 12976 (Rainbow Lake, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 12939 has a population of 205 at 19 people per square mile, while ZIP 12976 has 260 at 3 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 12939 reports a median household income of $51,635 against $61,406 in ZIP 12976, with per-capita income of $48,884 vs $43,936. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.8% in 12939 and 64.3% in 12976. Poverty rate reads 12.1% vs 8.0%, and unemployment 0.0% 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 $275,000 in 12939 versus $231,300 in 12976, with median rent of — and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.4% vs 80.5%. 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.