ZIP 12953 vs ZIP 12983

This side-by-side compares ZIP 12953 (Malone, 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 12953 has a population of 15,836 at 29 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 12953 reports a median household income of $68,799 against $65,985 in ZIP 12983, with per-capita income of $31,566 vs $44,357. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.7% in 12953 and 45.9% in 12983. Poverty rate reads 17.1% vs 14.4%, and unemployment 2.6% 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 $129,400 in 12953 versus $225,200 in 12983, with median rent of $853 and $872 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 67.3% 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.