ZIP 25438 vs ZIP 25414

This side-by-side compares ZIP 25438 (Ranson, WV) and ZIP 25414 (Charles Town, WV) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 25438 has a population of 6,266 at 273 people per square mile, while ZIP 25414 has 17,024 at 121 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 25438 reports a median household income of $81,875 against $105,500 in ZIP 25414, with per-capita income of $37,143 vs $48,563. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.4% in 25438 and 35.7% in 25414. Poverty rate reads 14.4% vs 6.7%, and unemployment 3.3% vs 3.4% — 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 $254,400 in 25438 versus $391,700 in 25414, with median rent of $1,087 and $1,061 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 72.8% vs 77.1%. 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.