ZIP 26287 vs ZIP 26260

This side-by-side compares ZIP 26287 (Parsons, WV) and ZIP 26260 (Davis, WV) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 26287 has a population of 3,131 at 8 people per square mile, while ZIP 26260 has 1,377 at 3 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 26287 reports a median household income of $51,855 against $95,690 in ZIP 26260, with per-capita income of $29,787 vs $53,989. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.0% in 26287 and 47.4% in 26260. Poverty rate reads 15.3% vs 14.7%, and unemployment 7.2% vs 1.4% — 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 $137,500 in 26287 versus $236,500 in 26260, with median rent of $634 and $639 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.1% vs 83.9%. 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.