ZIP 36740 vs ZIP 36776

This side-by-side compares ZIP 36740 (Forkland, AL) and ZIP 36776 (Sawyerville, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 36740 has a population of 1,328 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 36776 has 1,489 at 7 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 36740 reports a median household income of $44,737 against $16,765 in ZIP 36776, with per-capita income of $25,256 vs $20,225. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 10.9% in 36740 and 15.0% in 36776. Poverty rate reads 20.1% vs 37.7%, and unemployment 3.9% vs 2.6% — 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 $100,000 in 36740 versus $74,200 in 36776, with median rent of $525 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.1% vs 70.4%. 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.