ZIP 26836 vs ZIP 26818

This side-by-side compares ZIP 26836 (Moorefield, WV) and ZIP 26818 (Fisher, WV) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 26836 has a population of 6,578 at 13 people per square mile, while ZIP 26818 has 709 at 14 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 26836 reports a median household income of $47,770 against $42,173 in ZIP 26818, with per-capita income of $28,634 vs $16,550. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 11.2% in 26836 and 10.4% in 26818. Poverty rate reads 14.5% vs 42.0%, and unemployment 8.2% vs 11.6% — 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 $151,100 in 26836 versus $129,200 in 26818, with median rent of $804 and $703 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 70.4% vs 61.4%. 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.