ZIP 26851 vs ZIP 22654

This side-by-side compares ZIP 26851 (Wardensville, WV) and ZIP 22654 (Star Tannery, VA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 26851 has a population of 2,180 at 8 people per square mile, while ZIP 22654 has 640 at 4 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 26851 reports a median household income of $49,776 against $74,721 in ZIP 22654, with per-capita income of $32,823 vs $43,830. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.8% in 26851 and 16.2% in 22654. Poverty rate reads 19.3% vs 5.7%, and unemployment 5.4% 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 $209,400 in 26851 versus $417,200 in 22654, with median rent of $820 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.6% vs 94.8%. 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.