ZIP 12956 vs ZIP 12974

This side-by-side compares ZIP 12956 (Mineville, NY) and ZIP 12974 (Port Henry, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 12956 has a population of 1,259 at 54 people per square mile, while ZIP 12974 has 1,599 at 77 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 12956 reports a median household income of $69,692 against $47,278 in ZIP 12974, with per-capita income of $29,562 vs $30,304. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.7% in 12956 and 20.9% in 12974. Poverty rate reads 6.8% vs 30.9%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 4.0% — 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 $115,200 in 12956 versus $161,400 in 12974, with median rent of — and $791 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 97.9% vs 71.4%. 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.