ZIP 35204 vs ZIP 35254

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35204 (Birmingham, AL) and ZIP 35254 (Birmingham, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35204 has a population of 10,337 at 822 people per square mile, while ZIP 35254 has 1,403 at 1,267 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 35204 reports a median household income of $35,420 against — in ZIP 35254, with per-capita income of $20,478 vs $4,941. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.4% in 35204 and — in 35254. Poverty rate reads 26.5% vs —, and unemployment 10.2% 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 $89,300 in 35204 versus — in 35254, with median rent of $751 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 46.2% vs —. 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.