ZIP 35953 vs ZIP 35987

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35953 (Ashville, AL) and ZIP 35987 (Steele, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35953 has a population of 7,319 at 25 people per square mile, while ZIP 35987 has 2,666 at 17 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 35953 reports a median household income of $73,750 against $78,906 in ZIP 35987, with per-capita income of $37,695 vs $32,261. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 11.3% in 35953 and 10.3% in 35987. Poverty rate reads 10.6% vs 8.9%, and unemployment 2.3% vs 2.1% — 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 $201,700 in 35953 versus $181,600 in 35987, with median rent of $761 and $721 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.9% vs 90.4%. 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.