ZIP 26234 vs ZIP 26228

This side-by-side compares ZIP 26234 (Rock Cave, WV) and ZIP 26228 (Kanawha Head, WV) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 26234 has a population of 1,454 at 11 people per square mile, while ZIP 26228 has 109 at 5 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 26234 reports a median household income of $61,250 against — in ZIP 26228, with per-capita income of $29,530 vs —. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.8% in 26234 and 0.0% in 26228. Poverty rate reads 22.3% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 0.0% 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 $206,500 in 26234 versus — in 26228, with median rent of — and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.0% 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.