ZIP 26452 vs ZIP 26378

This side-by-side compares ZIP 26452 (Weston, WV) and ZIP 26378 (Jane Lew, WV) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 26452 has a population of 9,676 at 30 people per square mile, while ZIP 26378 has 3,820 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 26452 reports a median household income of $51,695 against $71,546 in ZIP 26378, with per-capita income of $31,458 vs $38,939. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.2% in 26452 and 21.4% in 26378. Poverty rate reads 21.2% vs 4.0%, and unemployment 10.5% vs 6.0% — 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 $128,300 in 26452 versus $172,900 in 26378, with median rent of $738 and $686 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 63.9% vs 86.3%. 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.