ZIP 14892 vs ZIP 14859

This side-by-side compares ZIP 14892 (Waverly, NY) and ZIP 14859 (Lockwood, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 14892 has a population of 8,189 at 74 people per square mile, while ZIP 14859 has 1,029 at 13 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 14892 reports a median household income of $54,043 against $98,750 in ZIP 14859, with per-capita income of $37,905 vs $39,550. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.7% in 14892 and 26.6% in 14859. Poverty rate reads 12.1% vs 7.0%, and unemployment 6.0% vs 4.9% — 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 $139,000 in 14892 versus $125,800 in 14859, with median rent of $959 and $1,125 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 72.1% vs 92.9%. 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.