ZIP 36260 vs ZIP 35096

This side-by-side compares ZIP 36260 (Eastaboga, AL) and ZIP 35096 (Lincoln, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 36260 has a population of 4,247 at 60 people per square mile, while ZIP 35096 has 7,815 at 38 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 36260 reports a median household income of $73,007 against $66,913 in ZIP 35096, with per-capita income of $28,108 vs $35,425. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.1% in 36260 and 18.9% in 35096. Poverty rate reads 15.2% vs 12.8%, and unemployment 5.4% vs 1.4% — 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 $160,900 in 36260 versus $186,700 in 35096, with median rent of $857 and $951 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.9% vs 92.6%. 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.