ZIP 21540 vs ZIP 26750

This side-by-side compares ZIP 21540 (Luke, MD) and ZIP 26750 (Piedmont, WV) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 21540 has a population of 65 at 93 people per square mile, while ZIP 26750 has 891 at 774 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 21540 reports a median household income of $81,250 against $42,500 in ZIP 26750, with per-capita income of $32,897 vs $21,324. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 11.5% in 21540 and 5.9% in 26750. Poverty rate reads 2.2% vs 24.8%, and unemployment 9.8% vs 14.2% — 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 $51,000 in 21540 versus $46,400 in 26750, with median rent of — and $493 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.6% vs 58.7%. 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.