ZIP 24426 vs ZIP 24422

This side-by-side compares ZIP 24426 (Covington, VA) and ZIP 24422 (Clifton Forge, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 24426 has a population of 14,329 at 17 people per square mile, while ZIP 24422 has 6,315 at 29 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 24426 reports a median household income of $55,138 against $48,750 in ZIP 24422, with per-capita income of $31,853 vs $30,372. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 11.3% in 24426 and 20.3% in 24422. Poverty rate reads 15.2% vs 14.6%, and unemployment 2.2% 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 $115,500 in 24426 versus $113,400 in 24422, with median rent of $793 and $678 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.6% vs 73.5%. 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.