ZIP 14072 vs ZIP 14304

This side-by-side compares ZIP 14072 (Grand Island, NY) and ZIP 14304 (Niagara Falls, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 14072 has a population of 20,374 at 278 people per square mile, while ZIP 14304 has 30,389 at 529 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 14072 reports a median household income of $115,991 against $66,660 in ZIP 14304, with per-capita income of $58,914 vs $36,938. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 46.5% in 14072 and 25.0% in 14304. Poverty rate reads 4.1% vs 13.3%, and unemployment 3.5% vs 6.6% — 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 $327,000 in 14072 versus $164,000 in 14304, with median rent of $1,199 and $971 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.6% vs 75.1%. 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.