ZIP 14059 vs ZIP 14086

This side-by-side compares ZIP 14059 (Elma, NY) and ZIP 14086 (Lancaster, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 14059 has a population of 8,933 at 128 people per square mile, while ZIP 14086 has 31,847 at 363 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 14059 reports a median household income of $113,555 against $99,499 in ZIP 14086, with per-capita income of $61,444 vs $51,257. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 46.7% in 14059 and 41.3% in 14086. Poverty rate reads 4.2% vs 4.2%, and unemployment 6.7% vs 2.1% — 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 $346,500 in 14059 versus $294,300 in 14086, with median rent of $1,160 and $1,125 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.5% vs 83.5%. 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.