ZIP 24935 vs ZIP 24918

This side-by-side compares ZIP 24935 (Forest Hill, WV) and ZIP 24918 (Ballard, WV) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 24935 has a population of 688 at 9 people per square mile, while ZIP 24918 has 1,677 at 15 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 24935 reports a median household income of $37,135 against $63,594 in ZIP 24918, with per-capita income of $11,729 vs $26,550. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.0% in 24935 and 10.1% in 24918. Poverty rate reads 54.7% vs 26.7%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 4.5% — 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 — in 24935 versus $140,800 in 24918, with median rent of — and $667 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.6% vs 78.7%. 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.