ZIP 35979 vs ZIP 35966

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35979 (Higdon, AL) and ZIP 35966 (Flat Rock, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35979 has a population of 1,398 at 52 people per square mile, while ZIP 35966 has 3,914 at 18 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 35979 reports a median household income of $51,833 against $43,883 in ZIP 35966, with per-capita income of $24,519 vs $24,314. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 1.9% in 35979 and 10.1% in 35966. Poverty rate reads 27.8% vs 20.0%, and unemployment 13.9% vs 5.9% — 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 $137,000 in 35979 versus $149,700 in 35966, with median rent of — and $782 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 94.9% vs 76.2%. 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.