ZIP 35222 vs ZIP 35212

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35222 (Birmingham, AL) and ZIP 35212 (Birmingham, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35222 has a population of 7,884 at 816 people per square mile, while ZIP 35212 has 11,539 at 760 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 35222 reports a median household income of $84,066 against $36,633 in ZIP 35212, with per-capita income of $63,877 vs $29,623. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 61.3% in 35222 and 34.0% in 35212. Poverty rate reads 16.7% vs 37.2%, and unemployment 3.9% vs 7.6% — 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 $399,800 in 35222 versus $232,100 in 35212, with median rent of $1,114 and $841 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 56.4% vs 44.6%. 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.