ZIP 12970 vs ZIP 12976

This side-by-side compares ZIP 12970 (Paul Smiths, 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 12970 has a population of 963 at 7 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 12970 reports a median household income of $84,250 against $61,406 in ZIP 12976, with per-capita income of $24,420 vs $43,936. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 48.5% in 12970 and 64.3% in 12976. Poverty rate reads 3.9% vs 8.0%, and unemployment 9.2% 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 $242,100 in 12970 versus $231,300 in 12976, with median rent of $1,034 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 64.2% 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.