ZIP 36203 vs ZIP 36201

This side-by-side compares ZIP 36203 (Oxford, AL) and ZIP 36201 (Anniston, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 36203 has a population of 18,799 at 190 people per square mile, while ZIP 36201 has 20,156 at 209 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 36203 reports a median household income of $69,485 against $37,614 in ZIP 36201, with per-capita income of $34,825 vs $23,111. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.3% in 36203 and 6.0% in 36201. Poverty rate reads 16.8% vs 23.9%, and unemployment 5.8% vs 10.1% — 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 $178,700 in 36203 versus $80,900 in 36201, with median rent of $890 and $728 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 73.5% vs 58.6%. 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.