ZIP 36502 vs ZIP 36426

This side-by-side compares ZIP 36502 (Atmore, AL) and ZIP 36426 (Brewton, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 36502 has a population of 18,355 at 22 people per square mile, while ZIP 36426 has 16,202 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 36502 reports a median household income of $44,360 against $51,417 in ZIP 36426, with per-capita income of $23,040 vs $25,315. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 11.5% in 36502 and 17.3% in 36426. Poverty rate reads 19.0% vs 19.8%, and unemployment 12.2% vs 9.0% — 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 $139,000 in 36502 versus $142,000 in 36426, with median rent of $782 and $730 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 64.2% vs 77.4%. 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.