ZIP 35903 vs ZIP 35901

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