ZIP 30035 vs ZIP 30088

This side-by-side compares ZIP 30035 (Decatur, GA) and ZIP 30088 (Stone Mountain, GA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 30035 has a population of 20,396 at 921 people per square mile, while ZIP 30088 has 25,257 at 1,255 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 30035 reports a median household income of $66,799 against $70,325 in ZIP 30088, with per-capita income of $28,690 vs $35,591. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.8% in 30035 and 30.2% in 30088. Poverty rate reads 21.5% vs 11.1%, and unemployment 7.9% vs 6.7% — 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 $244,200 in 30035 versus $238,700 in 30088, with median rent of $1,665 and $1,598 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 56.8% vs 60.8%. 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.