ZIP 30540 vs ZIP 30536

This side-by-side compares ZIP 30540 (Ellijay, GA) and ZIP 30536 (Ellijay, GA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 30540 has a population of 17,297 at 34 people per square mile, while ZIP 30536 has 8,363 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 30540 reports a median household income of $72,578 against $80,000 in ZIP 30536, with per-capita income of $34,300 vs $35,959. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.6% in 30540 and 28.7% in 30536. Poverty rate reads 17.5% vs 11.7%, and unemployment 2.3% vs 2.2% — 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 $294,600 in 30540 versus $338,500 in 30536, with median rent of $956 and $1,174 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.9% vs 82.1%. 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.