ZIP 26431 vs ZIP 26568

This side-by-side compares ZIP 26431 (Shinnston, WV) and ZIP 26568 (Enterprise, WV) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 26431 has a population of 5,950 at 62 people per square mile, while ZIP 26568 has 679 at 199 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 26431 reports a median household income of $61,023 against $61,914 in ZIP 26568, with per-capita income of $33,886 vs $26,132. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.9% in 26431 and 9.8% in 26568. Poverty rate reads 9.9% vs 2.8%, and unemployment 2.0% vs 17.9% — 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 $149,900 in 26431 versus $89,500 in 26568, with median rent of $1,128 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 68.9% 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.