ZIP 36271 vs ZIP 35907

This side-by-side compares ZIP 36271 (Ohatchee, AL) and ZIP 35907 (Gadsden, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 36271 has a population of 6,023 at 28 people per square mile, while ZIP 35907 has 8,345 at 145 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 36271 reports a median household income of $68,250 against $76,390 in ZIP 35907, with per-capita income of $34,043 vs $34,026. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.9% in 36271 and 23.3% in 35907. Poverty rate reads 10.0% vs 4.4%, and unemployment 7.2% vs 2.9% — 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 $135,900 in 36271 versus $227,200 in 35907, with median rent of $766 and $1,184 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 93.8% vs 92.9%. 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.