ZIP 36274 vs ZIP 36278

This side-by-side compares ZIP 36274 (Roanoke, AL) and ZIP 36278 (Wedowee, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 36274 has a population of 11,199 at 24 people per square mile, while ZIP 36278 has 4,366 at 13 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 36274 reports a median household income of $50,621 against $58,214 in ZIP 36278, with per-capita income of $27,453 vs $37,796. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.4% in 36274 and 19.1% in 36278. Poverty rate reads 16.9% vs 16.9%, and unemployment 4.1% vs 3.9% — 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 $143,200 in 36274 versus $261,000 in 36278, with median rent of $653 and $701 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 73.6% vs 80.2%. 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.