ZIP 26554 vs ZIP 26582

This side-by-side compares ZIP 26554 (Fairmont, WV) and ZIP 26582 (Mannington, WV) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 26554 has a population of 41,369 at 118 people per square mile, while ZIP 26582 has 5,335 at 21 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 26554 reports a median household income of $69,712 against $52,083 in ZIP 26582, with per-capita income of $37,402 vs $29,690. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 31.9% in 26554 and 12.0% in 26582. Poverty rate reads 13.3% vs 14.7%, and unemployment 5.2% vs 1.7% — 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 $183,900 in 26554 versus $100,700 in 26582, with median rent of $978 and $765 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 73.2% vs 83.9%. 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.