ZIP 35186 vs ZIP 35078

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35186 (Wilsonville, AL) and ZIP 35078 (Harpersville, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35186 has a population of 4,931 at 34 people per square mile, while ZIP 35078 has 2,082 at 19 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 35186 reports a median household income of $102,615 against $75,056 in ZIP 35078, with per-capita income of $40,505 vs $33,925. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.5% in 35186 and 20.9% in 35078. Poverty rate reads 9.5% vs 7.2%, and unemployment 7.4% vs 1.5% — 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 $304,300 in 35186 versus $216,100 in 35078, with median rent of $1,283 and $842 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.1% vs 82.6%. 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.