ZIP 36071 vs ZIP 36049

This side-by-side compares ZIP 36071 (Rutledge, AL) and ZIP 36049 (Luverne, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 36071 has a population of 766 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 36049 has 5,706 at 14 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 36071 reports a median household income of $86,324 against $51,126 in ZIP 36049, with per-capita income of $55,689 vs $29,443. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.7% in 36071 and 17.1% in 36049. Poverty rate reads 4.3% vs 17.0%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 4.2% — 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 $155,100 in 36071 versus $140,900 in 36049, with median rent of $718 and $641 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.1% vs 66.1%. 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.