Walden, NY
Orange County · New York · United States
Home to 12,874 people across 23.754 square miles.
At a glance
12586 by the numbers
Every figure below comes from the 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the Census Gazetteer, or is computed from those. Margins of error are shown where they matter.
Location
Where 12586 is
| Coordinates | 41.565134, -74.171721 |
|---|---|
| Time zone | America/New_York |
| County | Orange County |
| State | New York (NY) |
| Land area | 23.754 mi² |
| Coordinate source | Census ZCTA internal point |
Local time
America/New_York
Current weather
Live from the National Weather Service
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Distance to major cities
Straight-line, computed from coordinates
| New York, NY | 59.5 mi |
|---|---|
| Philadelphia, PA | 122.9 mi |
| Boston, MA | 169.1 mi |
| Chicago, IL | 693.7 mi |
People
Who lives in 12586
12,874 residents in 4,367 households, averaging 2.95 people per household. The largest age group is under 18 at 27.1% of residents.
Age distribution
Share of residents by age band
Households
Composition and size
| Total households | 4,367 |
|---|---|
| Average household size | 2.95 |
| Family households | 70.0% |
| Living alone | 23.3% |
| Median age | 37 years |
| Households with internet | 91.8% |
Race & ethnicity
Census race categories. Hispanic or Latino origin is asked separately and overlaps these groups.
Income & work
What people earn in 12586
The median household here earns $94,107 a year, above the US median of $70,109, which puts 12586 ahead of 79% of American ZIP codes. 13.0% of residents live below the poverty line.
Compared to the US
This ZIP against the national median
| Median household income | $94,107 ±$15,093 |
|---|---|
| Per capita income | $37,498 |
| Poverty rate | 13.0% |
| Unemployment rate | 6.5% |
| Labor force participation | 63.0% |
Household income distribution
Share of households in each bracket
Educational attainment among residents 25 and older: 27.1% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 87.0% finished high school.
Housing
Homes and rent in 12586
A typical home is valued at $335,600, and median rent runs $1,576 a month. This is an owner-majority area — 70.0% of occupied homes are owned, and the typical building went up in 1964.
Costs
Typical values
| Median home value | $335,600 |
|---|---|
| Median gross rent | $1,576/mo |
| Median year built | 1964 |
| Housing units | 4,711 |
| Vacancy rate | 7.3% |
Own vs. rent
Of 4,367 occupied units
| Owner households | 3,056 |
|---|---|
| Renter households | 1,311 |
Building types
Units by structure size
Getting to work
How 12586 commutes
77.8% of workers drove alone, and the average one-way trip takes 31.9 minutes.
Mode of transport
Workers 16 and older
Travel time
Mean commute 31.9 minutes
Overview
Understanding ZIP code 12586
ZIP code 12586 is assigned to Walden, NY, and falls within Orange County. Like every US postal code, it began as a mail-routing device rather than a geographic boundary — the US Postal Service groups delivery routes under a single code so carriers and sorting equipment can process mail efficiently. Today it also serves as a practical shorthand for the area itself: roughly 12,874 people live inside it.
At 542 residents per square mile spread over 23.754 square miles, 12586 reads as a small-town area. It is a mid-sized postal code by population, and density shapes almost everything else on this page — how people get to work, whether they own or rent, and what housing costs.
Household earnings run above the national median. At $94,107, 12586 sits comfortably in the upper half, ahead of 79% of them. The US median for comparison is $70,109. Bear in mind that median income describes the midpoint household, not the average — it is not pulled upward by a handful of very high earners the way a mean would be.
Living here
What life in Walden looks like
Housing in 12586 costs well above the national median. A typical home is valued at $335,600 against a US median of $207,500, and median gross rent runs $1,576 a month. Ownership dominates: 70.0% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, which usually signals an established residential area with relatively low turnover.
The building stock is dominated by detached single-family houses, which account for 72.0% of housing units here. The median construction year is 1964, making the housing here mid-century.
The population skews broadly in line with the national age profile, with a median age of 37 against 42 nationally. The average household holds 2.95 people, and 70.0% are family households.
Getting to work takes 31.9 minutes on average one way. The dominant mode is drove alone at 77.8% of workers.
Where to stay
Where to stay in Walden, NY
Walden is a smaller community, so options inside 12586 may be limited to a handful of independent inns, motels or bed-and-breakfast properties. Travellers often widen the search to the surrounding area, where the choice is greater and prices are usually competitive.
Median rent in 12586 is $1,576 a month, which sits in the middle of the national range; accommodation pricing locally tends to be similarly mid-market. For reference, New York, NY is about 59.5 miles away in a straight line, which is worth factoring in if you are comparing a stay here against one closer to the city centre.
Availability and pricing change constantly, so the live search below will give you a more accurate picture than any figure we could publish here. It opens results for this area on Booking.com.
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Practical uses
What ZIP code 12586 is used for
Beyond addressing mail, 12586 does a lot of quiet administrative work. Retailers use it to calculate shipping and sales tax at checkout. Insurers use it to set premiums, since risk profiles vary geographically. Employers and marketers use it to define service areas. Government agencies use it to route benefits and organise reporting. If you have ever been asked for a postal code by a form that clearly does not intend to send you anything, this is why.
For anyone weighing a move, 12586 offers a compact profile of Walden: 12,874 residents, a median household income of $94,107, 27.1% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 6.5%. A handful of figures like these answer more relocation questions than most neighbourhood guides do.
One caution worth repeating: a postal code is not a neighbourhood. 12586 may cover parts of several distinct areas, and a single neighbourhood in Walden may be split across more than one code. Boundaries also shift as USPS adjusts delivery routes. Treat the figures here as describing a delivery area, which is what they actually measure.
Nearby
ZIP codes near 12586
The eight closest postal codes by centroid distance, each with its own full profile. You can also browse every New York ZIP code or use the ZIP Express Lookup to search by city, county or time zone.
More in Orange County
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Questions
Common questions about 12586
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Methodology
Where this data comes from
- Postal geography — GeoNames open postal code database (CC BY 4.0), cross-checked against the US Census Gazetteer.
- Demographics, income, housing, commute — US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-Year Estimates, ZIP Code Tabulation Area 12586. Tables B01001, B01002, B01003, B02001, B03003, B08301, B08303, B11001, B15003, B17001, B19001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25024, B25035, B25064, B25077, B28002.
- Land and water area — US Census Bureau 2023 Gazetteer Files.
- Weather — NOAA National Weather Service, fetched live in your browser.
- Map — OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).