ZIP 35984 vs ZIP 35989

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35984 (Mentone, AL) and ZIP 35989 (Valley Head, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35984 has a population of 1,889 at 11 people per square mile, while ZIP 35989 has 3,573 at 23 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 35984 reports a median household income of $44,135 against $43,580 in ZIP 35989, with per-capita income of $30,489 vs $23,399. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 27.8% in 35984 and 14.5% in 35989. Poverty rate reads 16.4% vs 19.6%, and unemployment 0.4% 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 $138,000 in 35984 versus $94,100 in 35989, with median rent of $358 and $715 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.8% vs 82.8%. 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.