ZIP 35603 vs ZIP 35601

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35603 (Decatur, AL) and ZIP 35601 (Decatur, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35603 has a population of 30,545 at 168 people per square mile, while ZIP 35601 has 34,434 at 472 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 35603 reports a median household income of $81,490 against $51,429 in ZIP 35601, with per-capita income of $42,141 vs $28,453. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.3% in 35603 and 18.1% in 35601. Poverty rate reads 7.3% vs 17.3%, and unemployment 2.6% vs 5.3% — 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 $247,400 in 35603 versus $172,200 in 35601, with median rent of $910 and $891 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 73.9% vs 57.8%. 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.