ZIP 35124 vs ZIP 35244

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35124 (Pelham, AL) and ZIP 35244 (Birmingham, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35124 has a population of 23,020 at 214 people per square mile, while ZIP 35244 has 32,390 at 576 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 35124 reports a median household income of $99,726 against $113,450 in ZIP 35244, with per-capita income of $48,408 vs $58,341. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 49.2% in 35124 and 62.3% in 35244. Poverty rate reads 6.9% vs 4.2%, and unemployment 2.5% vs 1.8% — 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 $307,600 in 35124 versus $412,000 in 35244, with median rent of $1,577 and $1,472 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.8% vs 70.4%. 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.