ZIP 12997 vs ZIP 12987

This side-by-side compares ZIP 12997 (Wilmington, NY) and ZIP 12987 (Upper Jay, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 12997 has a population of 1,239 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 12987 has 201 at 13 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 12997 reports a median household income of $82,344 against $127,083 in ZIP 12987, with per-capita income of $52,127 vs $87,497. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 35.4% in 12997 and 61.0% in 12987. Poverty rate reads 4.0% vs 35.3%, and unemployment 0.0% 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 $322,600 in 12997 versus $250,000 in 12987, with median rent of $1,063 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.0% vs 94.3%. 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.