ZIP 14894 vs ZIP 14904

This side-by-side compares ZIP 14894 (Wellsburg, NY) and ZIP 14904 (Elmira, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 14894 has a population of 1,454 at 50 people per square mile, while ZIP 14904 has 16,269 at 1,119 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 14894 reports a median household income of $51,250 against $53,174 in ZIP 14904, with per-capita income of $32,628 vs $31,715. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 9.9% in 14894 and 14.7% in 14904. Poverty rate reads 21.9% vs 23.7%, and unemployment 6.9% vs 11.7% — 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 $77,700 in 14894 versus $92,200 in 14904, with median rent of $950 and $1,070 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.5% vs 62.2%. 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.