ZIP 26354 vs ZIP 26435

This side-by-side compares ZIP 26354 (Grafton, WV) and ZIP 26435 (Simpson, WV) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 26354 has a population of 11,135 at 43 people per square mile, while ZIP 26435 has 98 at 251 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 26354 reports a median household income of $52,742 against — in ZIP 26435, with per-capita income of $30,807 vs $64,047. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 15.7% in 26354 and 0.0% in 26435. Poverty rate reads 17.1% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 6.7% vs 0.0% — 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 $136,200 in 26354 versus — in 26435, with median rent of $518 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.9% 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.