ZIP 26101 vs ZIP 45714

This side-by-side compares ZIP 26101 (Parkersburg, WV) and ZIP 45714 (Belpre, OH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 26101 has a population of 29,999 at 392 people per square mile, while ZIP 45714 has 9,951 at 112 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 26101 reports a median household income of $48,710 against $56,574 in ZIP 45714, with per-capita income of $28,749 vs $33,498. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.5% in 26101 and 19.5% in 45714. Poverty rate reads 23.3% vs 14.8%, and unemployment 8.5% vs 2.4% — 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 $117,500 in 26101 versus $166,200 in 45714, with median rent of $794 and $873 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 68.2% vs 70.7%. 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.