ZIP 35217 vs ZIP 35119

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35217 (Birmingham, AL) and ZIP 35119 (New Castle, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35217 has a population of 13,729 at 294 people per square mile, while ZIP 35119 has 116 at 158 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 35217 reports a median household income of $40,486 against — in ZIP 35119, with per-capita income of $23,064 vs —. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.1% in 35217 and — in 35119. Poverty rate reads 24.2% vs —, and unemployment 6.9% vs — — 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 $120,400 in 35217 versus — in 35119, with median rent of $933 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 47.5% 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.