ZIP 36509 vs ZIP 36544

This side-by-side compares ZIP 36509 (Bayou La Batre, AL) and ZIP 36544 (Irvington, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 36509 has a population of 1,983 at 117 people per square mile, while ZIP 36544 has 12,476 at 120 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 36509 reports a median household income of $33,488 against $54,169 in ZIP 36544, with per-capita income of $19,348 vs $26,265. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 7.9% in 36509 and 8.3% in 36544. Poverty rate reads 25.9% vs 16.3%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 6.7% — 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 $86,500 in 36509 versus $140,000 in 36544, with median rent of $803 and $847 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 61.1% vs 77.0%. 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.