ZIP 35244 vs ZIP 35226

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35244 (Birmingham, AL) and ZIP 35226 (Birmingham, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35244 has a population of 32,390 at 576 people per square mile, while ZIP 35226 has 31,471 at 679 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 35244 reports a median household income of $113,450 against $124,516 in ZIP 35226, with per-capita income of $58,341 vs $57,371. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 62.3% in 35244 and 69.3% in 35226. Poverty rate reads 4.2% vs 4.8%, and unemployment 1.8% vs 3.0% — 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 $412,000 in 35244 versus $411,000 in 35226, with median rent of $1,472 and $1,499 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 70.4% vs 83.3%. 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.