ZIP 36255 vs ZIP 36256

This side-by-side compares ZIP 36255 (Cragford, AL) and ZIP 36256 (Daviston, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 36255 has a population of 969 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 36256 has 1,570 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 36255 reports a median household income of $84,792 against $64,167 in ZIP 36256, with per-capita income of $35,504 vs $30,527. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.8% in 36255 and 17.1% in 36256. Poverty rate reads 7.2% vs 11.4%, and unemployment 7.2% vs 2.1% — 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 $127,800 in 36255 versus $151,800 in 36256, with median rent of — and $621 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.1% vs 86.9%. 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.