ZIP 35051 vs ZIP 35043

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35051 (Columbiana, AL) and ZIP 35043 (Chelsea, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35051 has a population of 8,787 at 31 people per square mile, while ZIP 35043 has 9,234 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 35051 reports a median household income of $80,061 against $121,356 in ZIP 35043, with per-capita income of $34,205 vs $47,600. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.1% in 35051 and 46.6% in 35043. Poverty rate reads 11.9% vs 4.5%, and unemployment 8.1% vs 3.6% — 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 $250,000 in 35051 versus $366,200 in 35043, with median rent of $929 and $1,322 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.9% vs 90.5%. 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.