ZIP 35205 vs ZIP 35233

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35205 (Birmingham, AL) and ZIP 35233 (Birmingham, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35205 has a population of 19,686 at 2,100 people per square mile, while ZIP 35233 has 1,308 at 301 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 35205 reports a median household income of $51,158 against $60,336 in ZIP 35233, with per-capita income of $45,277 vs $46,927. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 58.0% in 35205 and 79.0% in 35233. Poverty rate reads 16.4% vs 19.1%, and unemployment 4.4% vs 1.0% — 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 $293,800 in 35205 versus $338,600 in 35233, with median rent of $1,084 and $1,638 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 32.8% vs 7.2%. 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.