ZIP 35456 vs ZIP 35453

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35456 (Duncanville, AL) and ZIP 35453 (Cottondale, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35456 has a population of 3,759 at 17 people per square mile, while ZIP 35453 has 11,127 at 46 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 35456 reports a median household income of $56,574 against $68,533 in ZIP 35453, with per-capita income of $33,699 vs $33,318. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 9.5% in 35456 and 18.3% in 35453. Poverty rate reads 11.7% vs 13.6%, and unemployment 2.1% vs 5.1% — 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 $202,300 in 35456 versus $209,900 in 35453, with median rent of $1,157 and $1,003 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 73.6% vs 87.1%. 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.