ZIP 26508 vs ZIP 26505

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