ZIP 36081 vs ZIP 36079

This side-by-side compares ZIP 36081 (Troy, AL) and ZIP 36079 (Troy, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 36081 has a population of 15,267 at 27 people per square mile, while ZIP 36079 has 9,339 at 18 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 36081 reports a median household income of $44,375 against $59,405 in ZIP 36079, with per-capita income of $29,589 vs $33,044. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 33.4% in 36081 and 31.9% in 36079. Poverty rate reads 28.3% vs 16.6%, and unemployment 2.7% vs 3.2% — 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 $198,800 in 36081 versus $177,100 in 36079, with median rent of $851 and $918 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 47.0% vs 72.7%. 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.