ZIP 26150 vs ZIP 26101

This side-by-side compares ZIP 26150 (Mineral Wells, WV) and ZIP 26101 (Parkersburg, WV) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 26150 has a population of 6,309 at 53 people per square mile, while ZIP 26101 has 29,999 at 392 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 26150 reports a median household income of $61,786 against $48,710 in ZIP 26101, with per-capita income of $32,397 vs $28,749. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.0% in 26150 and 17.5% in 26101. Poverty rate reads 8.7% vs 23.3%, and unemployment 6.1% vs 8.5% — 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 $172,500 in 26150 versus $117,500 in 26101, with median rent of $824 and $794 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.1% vs 68.2%. 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.