ZIP 26346 vs ZIP 26415

This side-by-side compares ZIP 26346 (Ellenboro, WV) and ZIP 26415 (Pennsboro, WV) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 26346 has a population of 972 at 14 people per square mile, while ZIP 26415 has 4,016 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 26346 reports a median household income of $73,641 against $56,848 in ZIP 26415, with per-capita income of $31,711 vs $24,361. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 15.8% in 26346 and 10.8% in 26415. Poverty rate reads 5.2% vs 19.5%, and unemployment 12.4% vs 1.8% — 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 $142,300 in 26346 versus $109,000 in 26415, with median rent of $725 and $646 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 95.9% vs 85.4%. 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.