ZIP 14777 vs ZIP 14744

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