ZIP 24854 vs ZIP 24870

This side-by-side compares ZIP 24854 (Kopperston, WV) and ZIP 24870 (Oceana, WV) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 24854 has a population of 550 at 36 people per square mile, while ZIP 24870 has 2,874 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 24854 reports a median household income of $28,385 against $45,011 in ZIP 24870, with per-capita income of $15,072 vs $23,190. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 0.0% in 24854 and 26.0% in 24870. Poverty rate reads 68.0% vs 28.6%, and unemployment 2.5% vs 7.7% — 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 $52,500 in 24854 versus — in 24870, with median rent of — and $842 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.6% vs 76.2%. 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.