ZIP 12983 vs ZIP 12945

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