ZIP 44040 vs ZIP 44026

This side-by-side compares ZIP 44040 (Gates Mills, OH) and ZIP 44026 (Chesterland, OH) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 44040 has a population of 3,020 at 122 people per square mile, while ZIP 44026 has 11,116 at 151 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 44040 reports a median household income of $228,942 against $111,761 in ZIP 44026, with per-capita income of $131,300 vs $55,007. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 62.8% in 44040 and 42.1% in 44026. Poverty rate reads 6.3% vs 7.1%, and unemployment 9.1% vs 4.2% — 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 $587,700 in 44040 versus $330,800 in 44026, with median rent of $2,875 and $909 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 96.9% vs 88.5%. 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.