ZIP 35010 vs ZIP 36861

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35010 (Alexander City, AL) and ZIP 36861 (Jacksons Gap, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35010 has a population of 20,816 at 37 people per square mile, while ZIP 36861 has 3,264 at 26 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 35010 reports a median household income of $51,338 against $65,577 in ZIP 36861, with per-capita income of $30,440 vs $41,484. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.2% in 35010 and 26.0% in 36861. Poverty rate reads 22.4% vs 13.3%, and unemployment 7.0% vs 3.0% — 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 $149,100 in 35010 versus $273,500 in 36861, with median rent of $731 and $717 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 70.1% vs 88.3%. 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.