ZIP 12985 vs ZIP 12912

This side-by-side compares ZIP 12985 (Schuyler Falls, NY) and ZIP 12912 (Au Sable Forks, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 12985 has a population of 1,072 at 8 people per square mile, while ZIP 12912 has 1,998 at 9 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 12985 reports a median household income of $76,090 against $70,046 in ZIP 12912, with per-capita income of $37,637 vs $45,757. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.0% in 12985 and 27.4% in 12912. Poverty rate reads 14.2% vs 5.5%, and unemployment 2.6% vs 6.0% — 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 $157,900 in 12985 versus $189,200 in 12912, with median rent of — and $1,048 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.6% vs 85.2%. 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.