ZIP 35401 vs ZIP 35405

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35401 (Tuscaloosa, AL) and ZIP 35405 (Tuscaloosa, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35401 has a population of 39,878 at 325 people per square mile, while ZIP 35405 has 37,661 at 306 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 35401 reports a median household income of $29,152 against $62,301 in ZIP 35405, with per-capita income of $18,050 vs $36,235. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.0% in 35401 and 30.3% in 35405. Poverty rate reads 43.5% vs 13.8%, and unemployment 13.7% vs 3.2% — 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 $144,500 in 35401 versus $234,000 in 35405, with median rent of $951 and $1,061 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 27.0% vs 54.4%. 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.