ZIP 36542 vs ZIP 36511

This side-by-side compares ZIP 36542 (Gulf Shores, AL) and ZIP 36511 (Bon Secour, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 36542 has a population of 12,705 at 93 people per square mile, while ZIP 36511 has 764 at 63 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 36542 reports a median household income of $79,639 against $87,607 in ZIP 36511, with per-capita income of $44,566 vs $52,260. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 38.9% in 36542 and 13.0% in 36511. Poverty rate reads 10.4% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 2.4% vs 0.0% — 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 $383,500 in 36542 versus — in 36511, with median rent of $1,502 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 72.6% vs 62.7%. 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.