ZIP 35976 vs ZIP 35950

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35976 (Guntersville, AL) and ZIP 35950 (Albertville, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35976 has a population of 16,272 at 49 people per square mile, while ZIP 35950 has 20,826 at 180 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 35976 reports a median household income of $72,643 against $57,329 in ZIP 35950, with per-capita income of $40,426 vs $28,090. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 30.6% in 35976 and 19.7% in 35950. Poverty rate reads 14.9% vs 19.0%, and unemployment 3.2% vs 6.7% — 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 $266,500 in 35976 versus $180,500 in 35950, with median rent of $849 and $854 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.0% vs 70.0%. 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.