ZIP 35620 vs ZIP 38477

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35620 (Elkmont, AL) and ZIP 38477 (Prospect, TN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35620 has a population of 8,868 at 32 people per square mile, while ZIP 38477 has 2,766 at 11 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 35620 reports a median household income of $78,247 against $60,542 in ZIP 38477, with per-capita income of $34,497 vs $31,331. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.2% in 35620 and 17.3% in 38477. Poverty rate reads 11.5% vs 7.4%, and unemployment 3.0% vs 2.7% — 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 $196,100 in 35620 versus $223,200 in 38477, with median rent of $825 and $1,054 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.6% vs 87.3%. 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.