ZIP 14891 vs ZIP 14812

This side-by-side compares ZIP 14891 (Watkins Glen, NY) and ZIP 14812 (Beaver Dams, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 14891 has a population of 4,149 at 31 people per square mile, while ZIP 14812 has 3,478 at 17 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 14891 reports a median household income of $61,875 against $62,073 in ZIP 14812, with per-capita income of $38,420 vs $37,251. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.5% in 14891 and 17.9% in 14812. Poverty rate reads 8.1% vs 8.9%, and unemployment 8.1% vs 6.3% — 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 $164,700 in 14891 versus $126,100 in 14812, with median rent of $825 and $947 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 67.7% vs 89.8%. 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.