ZIP 35254 vs ZIP 35204

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35254 (Birmingham, AL) and ZIP 35204 (Birmingham, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35254 has a population of 1,403 at 1,267 people per square mile, while ZIP 35204 has 10,337 at 822 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 35254 reports a median household income of — against $35,420 in ZIP 35204, with per-capita income of $4,941 vs $20,478. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is — in 35254 and 16.4% in 35204. Poverty rate reads — vs 26.5%, and unemployment 2.0% vs 10.2% — 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 — in 35254 versus $89,300 in 35204, with median rent of — and $751 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is — vs 46.2%. 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.