ZIP 26525 vs ZIP 26537

This side-by-side compares ZIP 26525 (Bruceton Mills, WV) and ZIP 26537 (Kingwood, WV) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 26525 has a population of 7,064 at 20 people per square mile, while ZIP 26537 has 5,721 at 54 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 26525 reports a median household income of $82,114 against $59,844 in ZIP 26537, with per-capita income of $24,231 vs $32,024. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.9% in 26525 and 25.2% in 26537. Poverty rate reads 9.6% vs 14.1%, and unemployment 4.7% vs 5.9% — 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 $216,100 in 26525 versus $169,900 in 26537, with median rent of $858 and $687 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.1% 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.