ZIP 26237 vs ZIP 26218

This side-by-side compares ZIP 26237 (Tallmansville, WV) and ZIP 26218 (French Creek, WV) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 26237 has a population of 571 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 26218 has 2,583 at 15 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 26237 reports a median household income of $81,313 against $58,646 in ZIP 26218, with per-capita income of $21,220 vs $24,774. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 8.4% in 26237 and 11.7% in 26218. Poverty rate reads 0.0% vs 21.2%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 12.4% — 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 $117,700 in 26237 versus $143,900 in 26218, with median rent of — and $1,321 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 100.0% vs 88.5%. 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.