ZIP 26378 vs ZIP 26385

This side-by-side compares ZIP 26378 (Jane Lew, WV) and ZIP 26385 (Lost Creek, WV) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 26378 has a population of 3,820 at 24 people per square mile, while ZIP 26385 has 3,872 at 24 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 26378 reports a median household income of $71,546 against $82,625 in ZIP 26385, with per-capita income of $38,939 vs $41,133. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.4% in 26378 and 24.5% in 26385. Poverty rate reads 4.0% vs 8.0%, and unemployment 6.0% vs 1.9% — 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 $172,900 in 26378 versus $165,800 in 26385, with median rent of $686 and $1,081 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.3% vs 92.4%. 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.