ZIP 26034 vs ZIP 26050

This side-by-side compares ZIP 26034 (Chester, WV) and ZIP 26050 (Newell, WV) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 26034 has a population of 4,905 at 125 people per square mile, while ZIP 26050 has 1,575 at 210 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 26034 reports a median household income of $56,556 against $50,139 in ZIP 26050, with per-capita income of $31,313 vs $23,149. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.0% in 26034 and 19.0% in 26050. Poverty rate reads 16.8% vs 29.7%, and unemployment 6.5% vs 18.2% — 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 $138,400 in 26034 versus $83,900 in 26050, with median rent of $785 and $915 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.5% vs 64.9%. 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.