ZIP 35173 vs ZIP 35235

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35173 (Trussville, AL) and ZIP 35235 (Birmingham, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35173 has a population of 25,176 at 153 people per square mile, while ZIP 35235 has 19,484 at 537 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 35173 reports a median household income of $117,105 against $63,295 in ZIP 35235, with per-capita income of $49,499 vs $32,084. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 41.0% in 35173 and 29.1% in 35235. Poverty rate reads 2.6% vs 20.8%, and unemployment 1.3% vs 7.0% — 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 $345,300 in 35173 versus $194,500 in 35235, with median rent of $1,237 and $1,404 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 90.1% vs 65.5%. 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.