ZIP 36256 vs ZIP 36255

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