ZIP 36603 vs ZIP 36602

This side-by-side compares ZIP 36603 (Mobile, AL) and ZIP 36602 (Mobile, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 36603 has a population of 7,922 at 476 people per square mile, while ZIP 36602 has 1,057 at 448 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 36603 reports a median household income of $26,879 against $41,420 in ZIP 36602, with per-capita income of $19,237 vs $45,397. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.4% in 36603 and 46.1% in 36602. Poverty rate reads 33.2% vs 27.6%, and unemployment 13.3% vs 1.4% — 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 $109,100 in 36603 versus $316,400 in 36602, with median rent of $736 and $730 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 30.4% vs 25.3%. 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.