ZIP 35126 vs ZIP 35116

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35126 (Pinson, AL) and ZIP 35116 (Morris, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35126 has a population of 21,725 at 144 people per square mile, while ZIP 35116 has 4,240 at 74 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 35126 reports a median household income of $83,732 against $88,274 in ZIP 35116, with per-capita income of $30,825 vs $40,470. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.0% in 35126 and 30.6% in 35116. Poverty rate reads 14.1% vs 7.1%, and unemployment 4.4% vs 2.0% — 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 $199,000 in 35126 versus $237,000 in 35116, with median rent of $1,435 and $849 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.4% vs 91.7%. 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.