ZIP 12945 vs ZIP 12983

This side-by-side compares ZIP 12945 (Lake Clear, NY) and ZIP 12983 (Saranac Lake, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 12945 has a population of 638 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 12983 has 7,494 at 14 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 12945 reports a median household income of $80,227 against $65,985 in ZIP 12983, with per-capita income of $34,610 vs $44,357. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 53.6% in 12945 and 45.9% in 12983. Poverty rate reads 5.6% vs 14.4%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 2.9% — 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 $278,100 in 12945 versus $225,200 in 12983, with median rent of — and $872 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 92.9% vs 57.3%. 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.