ZIP 35207 vs ZIP 35234

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35207 (Birmingham, AL) and ZIP 35234 (Birmingham, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35207 has a population of 9,010 at 336 people per square mile, while ZIP 35234 has 6,311 at 684 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 35207 reports a median household income of $31,486 against $26,831 in ZIP 35234, with per-capita income of $18,998 vs $21,652. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.0% in 35207 and 11.2% in 35234. Poverty rate reads 39.9% vs 32.3%, and unemployment 9.5% vs 6.5% — 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 $80,300 in 35207 versus $114,300 in 35234, with median rent of $788 and $858 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 50.9% vs 53.7%. 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.