ZIP 24836 vs ZIP 24830

This side-by-side compares ZIP 24836 (Gary, WV) and ZIP 24830 (Elbert, WV) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 24836 has a population of 800 at 8 people per square mile, while ZIP 24830 has 139 at 6 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 24836 reports a median household income of $36,250 against $42,037 in ZIP 24830, with per-capita income of $17,179 vs $32,990. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 6.4% in 24836 and 57.8% in 24830. Poverty rate reads 46.0% vs 21.6%, and unemployment 12.1% vs 0.0% — 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 $47,700 in 24836 versus $33,400 in 24830, with median rent of — and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 93.8% vs 100.0%. 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.