ZIP 42088 vs ZIP 42085

This side-by-side compares ZIP 42088 (Wingo, KY) and ZIP 42085 (Water Valley, KY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 42088 has a population of 2,656 at 16 people per square mile, while ZIP 42085 has 918 at 12 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 42088 reports a median household income of $52,745 against $57,679 in ZIP 42085, with per-capita income of $28,259 vs $20,036. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.6% in 42088 and 3.5% in 42085. Poverty rate reads 17.3% vs 27.9%, and unemployment 2.2% vs 1.5% — 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 $134,500 in 42088 versus $106,000 in 42085, with median rent of $696 and $746 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.7% vs 70.0%. 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.