ZIP 26717 vs ZIP 21538

This side-by-side compares ZIP 26717 (Elk Garden, WV) and ZIP 21538 (Kitzmiller, MD) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 26717 has a population of 1,170 at 11 people per square mile, while ZIP 21538 has 716 at 16 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 26717 reports a median household income of $74,712 against $61,250 in ZIP 21538, with per-capita income of $24,251 vs $36,048. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 7.5% in 26717 and 10.1% in 21538. Poverty rate reads 13.7% vs 9.0%, and unemployment 8.5% vs 16.2% — 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 $101,300 in 26717 versus — in 21538, with median rent of — and $773 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 96.8% vs 78.1%. 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.