ZIP 26505 vs ZIP 26508

This side-by-side compares ZIP 26505 (Morgantown, WV) and ZIP 26508 (Morgantown, WV) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 26505 has a population of 38,772 at 1,140 people per square mile, while ZIP 26508 has 29,170 at 93 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 26505 reports a median household income of $45,536 against $90,041 in ZIP 26508, with per-capita income of $34,074 vs $51,488. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 55.3% in 26505 and 50.8% in 26508. Poverty rate reads 31.1% vs 14.1%, and unemployment 5.4% vs 4.2% — 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 $278,000 in 26505 versus $311,500 in 26508, with median rent of $981 and $1,011 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 32.5% vs 75.5%. 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.