ZIP 35405 vs ZIP 35401

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