ZIP 42603 vs ZIP 42602

This side-by-side compares ZIP 42603 (Alpha, KY) and ZIP 42602 (Albany, KY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 42603 has a population of 130 at 14 people per square mile, while ZIP 42602 has 10,216 at 21 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 42603 reports a median household income of $53,229 against $44,375 in ZIP 42602, with per-capita income of $35,364 vs $24,413. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 7.4% in 42603 and 18.1% in 42602. Poverty rate reads 30.4% vs 17.1%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 5.1% — 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 $73,000 in 42603 versus $124,100 in 42602, with median rent of $569 and $619 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 92.4% vs 70.2%. 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.