ZIP 35064 vs ZIP 35228

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35064 (Fairfield, AL) and ZIP 35228 (Birmingham, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35064 has a population of 11,458 at 1,078 people per square mile, while ZIP 35228 has 10,419 at 930 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 35064 reports a median household income of $48,692 against $50,815 in ZIP 35228, with per-capita income of $24,989 vs $29,388. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.8% in 35064 and 20.5% in 35228. Poverty rate reads 31.9% vs 22.4%, and unemployment 6.4% vs 4.1% — 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 $129,100 in 35064 versus $93,700 in 35228, with median rent of $1,008 and $1,128 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 59.5% vs 58.8%. 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.