ZIP 14802 vs ZIP 14803

This side-by-side compares ZIP 14802 (Alfred, NY) and ZIP 14803 (Alfred Station, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 14802 has a population of 4,135 at 1,535 people per square mile, while ZIP 14803 has 1,174 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 14802 reports a median household income of $40,489 against $51,694 in ZIP 14803, with per-capita income of $12,877 vs $28,547. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 71.0% in 14802 and 45.6% in 14803. Poverty rate reads 37.6% vs 33.0%, and unemployment 16.5% vs 13.7% — 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 $170,800 in 14802 versus $140,600 in 14803, with median rent of $895 and $810 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 48.5% vs 78.8%. 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.