ZIP 42086 vs ZIP 42001

This side-by-side compares ZIP 42086 (West Paducah, KY) and ZIP 42001 (Paducah, KY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 42086 has a population of 4,036 at 47 people per square mile, while ZIP 42001 has 27,960 at 147 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 42086 reports a median household income of $77,591 against $71,365 in ZIP 42001, with per-capita income of $35,260 vs $45,963. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.0% in 42086 and 35.2% in 42001. Poverty rate reads 7.8% vs 15.2%, and unemployment 1.8% vs 3.0% — 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 $179,200 in 42086 versus $215,300 in 42001, with median rent of $1,033 and $966 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.7% vs 63.5%. 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.