ZIP 36024 vs ZIP 36026

This side-by-side compares ZIP 36024 (Eclectic, AL) and ZIP 36026 (Equality, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 36024 has a population of 5,428 at 23 people per square mile, while ZIP 36026 has 1,089 at 6 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 36024 reports a median household income of $57,595 against $87,300 in ZIP 36026, with per-capita income of $40,222 vs $49,568. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.9% in 36024 and 36.6% in 36026. Poverty rate reads 10.5% vs 6.6%, and unemployment 2.0% vs 0.0% — 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 $243,000 in 36024 versus $298,200 in 36026, with median rent of $791 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.0% vs 98.7%. 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.