ZIP 26534 vs ZIP 26543

This side-by-side compares ZIP 26534 (Granville, WV) and ZIP 26543 (Osage, WV) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 26534 has a population of 789 at 227 people per square mile, while ZIP 26543 has 252 at 108 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 26534 reports a median household income of $31,413 against — in ZIP 26543, with per-capita income of $25,887 vs —. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.0% in 26534 and — in 26543. Poverty rate reads 35.4% vs —, and unemployment 17.0% vs — — 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 $138,300 in 26534 versus — in 26543, with median rent of $897 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 56.6% vs —. 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.