ZIP 26224 vs ZIP 26236

This side-by-side compares ZIP 26224 (Helvetia, WV) and ZIP 26236 (Selbyville, WV) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 26224 has a population of 221 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 26236 has 29 at 45 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 26224 reports a median household income of $23,000 against — in ZIP 26236, with per-capita income of $8,071 vs —. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.6% in 26224 and 0.0% in 26236. Poverty rate reads 75.6% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 56.3% vs — — 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 $57,400 in 26224 versus — in 26236, with median rent of — and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 60.4% vs 100.0%. 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.