ZIP 14744 vs ZIP 14777

This side-by-side compares ZIP 14744 (Houghton, NY) and ZIP 14777 (Rushford, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 14744 has a population of 2,094 at 46 people per square mile, while ZIP 14777 has 667 at 18 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 14744 reports a median household income of $77,750 against $57,500 in ZIP 14777, with per-capita income of $19,586 vs $24,596. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 55.5% in 14744 and 21.9% in 14777. Poverty rate reads 20.7% vs 16.1%, and unemployment 6.1% vs 2.5% — 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 $159,600 in 14744 versus $93,800 in 14777, with median rent of $958 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 60.0% vs 89.6%. 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.