ZIP 36830 vs ZIP 36801

This side-by-side compares ZIP 36830 (Auburn, AL) and ZIP 36801 (Opelika, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 36830 has a population of 33,201 at 129 people per square mile, while ZIP 36801 has 22,214 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 36830 reports a median household income of $70,188 against $62,414 in ZIP 36801, with per-capita income of $44,746 vs $34,897. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 64.7% in 36830 and 35.7% in 36801. Poverty rate reads 20.1% vs 19.0%, and unemployment 2.3% vs 5.5% — 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 $367,700 in 36830 versus $234,600 in 36801, with median rent of $1,092 and $932 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 56.4% vs 64.2%. 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.