ZIP 26704 vs ZIP 26761

This side-by-side compares ZIP 26704 (Augusta, WV) and ZIP 26761 (Shanks, WV) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 26704 has a population of 5,663 at 23 people per square mile, while ZIP 26761 has 685 at 24 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 26704 reports a median household income of $74,314 against $25,139 in ZIP 26761, with per-capita income of $39,676 vs $28,408. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.2% in 26704 and 26.6% in 26761. Poverty rate reads 10.8% vs 9.2%, and unemployment 8.5% vs 0.0% — 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 $230,100 in 26704 versus $79,400 in 26761, with median rent of $674 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 90.3% vs 75.7%. 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.