ZIP 14004 vs ZIP 14102

This side-by-side compares ZIP 14004 (Alden, NY) and ZIP 14102 (Marilla, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 14004 has a population of 12,704 at 102 people per square mile, while ZIP 14102 has 1,281 at 130 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 14004 reports a median household income of $90,839 against $119,327 in ZIP 14102, with per-capita income of $38,103 vs $46,337. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.2% in 14004 and 38.7% in 14102. Poverty rate reads 5.3% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 5.4% vs 2.3% — 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 $258,300 in 14004 versus $259,000 in 14102, with median rent of $938 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.2% vs 89.8%. 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.