ZIP 35986 vs ZIP 35968

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35986 (Rainsville, AL) and ZIP 35968 (Fort Payne, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35986 has a population of 7,744 at 66 people per square mile, while ZIP 35968 has 4,575 at 33 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 35986 reports a median household income of $68,056 against $43,539 in ZIP 35968, with per-capita income of $34,065 vs $23,798. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.9% in 35986 and 12.0% in 35968. Poverty rate reads 8.0% vs 27.2%, and unemployment 1.0% vs 7.0% — 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 $221,600 in 35986 versus $122,400 in 35968, with median rent of $558 and $698 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.5% vs 84.7%. 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.