ZIP 35020 vs ZIP 35061

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35020 (Bessemer, AL) and ZIP 35061 (Dolomite, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35020 has a population of 27,139 at 549 people per square mile, while ZIP 35061 has 1,465 at 283 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 35020 reports a median household income of $35,362 against $69,432 in ZIP 35061, with per-capita income of $20,401 vs $27,295. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 10.2% in 35020 and 13.6% in 35061. Poverty rate reads 31.5% vs 20.1%, and unemployment 7.7% vs 6.9% — 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 $91,200 in 35020 versus $166,000 in 35061, with median rent of $904 and $1,190 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 59.4% vs 72.3%. 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.