ZIP 35901 vs ZIP 35903

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35901 (Gadsden, AL) and ZIP 35903 (Gadsden, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35901 has a population of 20,045 at 130 people per square mile, while ZIP 35903 has 18,088 at 104 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 35901 reports a median household income of $48,876 against $53,122 in ZIP 35903, with per-capita income of $28,267 vs $30,903. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.4% in 35901 and 18.1% in 35903. Poverty rate reads 26.3% vs 15.3%, and unemployment 6.1% vs 4.0% — 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 $166,200 in 35901 versus $172,300 in 35903, with median rent of $820 and $861 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 65.9% vs 65.4%. 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.