ZIP 26137 vs ZIP 26178

This side-by-side compares ZIP 26137 (Big Springs, WV) and ZIP 26178 (Smithville, WV) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 26137 has a population of 939 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 26178 has 587 at 6 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 26137 reports a median household income of $26,098 against $35,139 in ZIP 26178, with per-capita income of $14,235 vs $18,176. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 8.4% in 26137 and 0.0% in 26178. Poverty rate reads 49.3% vs 17.9%, and unemployment 5.6% vs 0.0% — 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 26137 versus $137,500 in 26178, with median rent of — and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 94.9% vs 41.7%. 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.