ZIP 35128 vs ZIP 35054

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35128 (Pell City, AL) and ZIP 35054 (Cropwell, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35128 has a population of 10,197 at 62 people per square mile, while ZIP 35054 has 4,101 at 61 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 35128 reports a median household income of $83,990 against $77,929 in ZIP 35054, with per-capita income of $38,802 vs $32,285. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.6% in 35128 and 24.8% in 35054. Poverty rate reads 10.9% vs 11.1%, and unemployment 7.2% vs 5.1% — 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 $247,400 in 35128 versus $347,700 in 35054, with median rent of $1,246 and $1,064 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.8% vs 89.4%. 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.