ZIP 35988 vs ZIP 35986

This side-by-side compares ZIP 35988 (Sylvania, AL) and ZIP 35986 (Rainsville, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 35988 has a population of 1,940 at 61 people per square mile, while ZIP 35986 has 7,744 at 66 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 35988 reports a median household income of $53,684 against $68,056 in ZIP 35986, with per-capita income of $25,340 vs $34,065. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.7% in 35988 and 24.9% in 35986. Poverty rate reads 9.5% vs 8.0%, and unemployment 7.7% vs 1.0% — 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 $158,500 in 35988 versus $221,600 in 35986, with median rent of $691 and $558 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 64.9% vs 89.5%. 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.