ZIP 36874 vs ZIP 36877

This side-by-side compares ZIP 36874 (Salem, AL) and ZIP 36877 (Smiths Station, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 36874 has a population of 7,901 at 27 people per square mile, while ZIP 36877 has 11,414 at 107 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 36874 reports a median household income of $66,986 against $78,103 in ZIP 36877, with per-capita income of $36,621 vs $35,309. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.0% in 36874 and 26.8% in 36877. Poverty rate reads 9.1% vs 11.9%, and unemployment 1.0% vs 4.7% — 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 $194,900 in 36874 versus $224,200 in 36877, with median rent of $1,074 and $1,182 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 90.7% vs 83.7%. 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.