ZIP 14891 vs ZIP 14878

This side-by-side compares ZIP 14891 (Watkins Glen, NY) and ZIP 14878 (Rock Stream, 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 14878 has 781 at 19 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 — in ZIP 14878, with per-capita income of $38,420 vs $41,776. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.5% in 14891 and 31.3% in 14878. Poverty rate reads 8.1% vs 18.9%, and unemployment 8.1% vs 1.5% — 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 $164,700 in 14891 versus $182,800 in 14878, with median rent of $825 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 67.7% vs 95.7%. 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.