ZIP 24740 vs ZIP 24712

This side-by-side compares ZIP 24740 (Princeton, WV) and ZIP 24712 (Athens, WV) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 24740 has a population of 30,435 at 73 people per square mile, while ZIP 24712 has 2,063 at 90 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 24740 reports a median household income of $44,793 against $80,625 in ZIP 24712, with per-capita income of $32,484 vs $21,037. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.7% in 24740 and 37.5% in 24712. Poverty rate reads 18.4% vs 10.6%, and unemployment 2.1% vs 2.9% — 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 $132,300 in 24740 versus $213,800 in 24712, with median rent of $798 and $975 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 64.0% vs 87.5%. 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.