ZIP 25443 vs ZIP 21782

This side-by-side compares ZIP 25443 (Shepherdstown, WV) and ZIP 21782 (Sharpsburg, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 25443 has a population of 7,445 at 105 people per square mile, while ZIP 21782 has 4,097 at 53 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 25443 reports a median household income of $111,593 against $94,130 in ZIP 21782, with per-capita income of $53,577 vs $46,340. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 58.1% in 25443 and 26.0% in 21782. Poverty rate reads 5.7% vs 3.1%, and unemployment 4.8% vs 9.1% — 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 $414,500 in 25443 versus $311,600 in 21782, with median rent of $1,099 and $1,147 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.5% vs 85.9%. 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.