ZIP 35036 vs ZIP 35117

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35036 (Brookside, AL) and ZIP 35117 (Mount Olive, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35036 has a population of 297 at 138 people per square mile, while ZIP 35117 has 5,367 at 78 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 35036 reports a median household income of — against $92,730 in ZIP 35117, with per-capita income of $19,113 vs $42,509. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 0.0% in 35036 and 29.3% in 35117. Poverty rate reads 55.3% vs 9.7%, and unemployment — vs 0.7% — 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 — in 35036 versus $226,600 in 35117, with median rent of — and $1,404 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 17.0% vs 90.0%. 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.