ZIP 36089 vs ZIP 36053

This side-by-side compares ZIP 36089 (Union Springs, AL) and ZIP 36053 (Midway, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 36089 has a population of 8,760 at 10 people per square mile, while ZIP 36053 has 1,967 at 3 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 36089 reports a median household income of $24,109 against $49,357 in ZIP 36053, with per-capita income of $17,739 vs $21,918. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 8.5% in 36089 and 8.9% in 36053. Poverty rate reads 41.4% vs 15.9%, and unemployment 6.4% vs 11.8% — 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 $73,000 in 36089 versus $104,200 in 36053, with median rent of $585 and $529 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 63.3% vs 83.9%. 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.