ZIP 36274 vs ZIP 36855

This side-by-side compares ZIP 36274 (Roanoke, AL) and ZIP 36855 (Five Points, 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 36855 has 1,551 at 8 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 $46,765 in ZIP 36855, with per-capita income of $27,453 vs $28,446. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.4% in 36274 and 6.0% in 36855. Poverty rate reads 16.9% vs 30.5%, and unemployment 4.1% vs 9.3% — 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 $123,100 in 36855, with median rent of $653 and $530 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 73.6% vs 95.1%. 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.