ZIP 36904 vs ZIP 36908

This side-by-side compares ZIP 36904 (Butler, AL) and ZIP 36908 (Gilbertown, AL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 36904 has a population of 4,098 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 36908 has 2,417 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 36904 reports a median household income of $44,250 against $68,125 in ZIP 36908, with per-capita income of $24,794 vs $29,480. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.3% in 36904 and 12.6% in 36908. Poverty rate reads 17.6% vs 10.8%, and unemployment 5.0% vs 2.2% — 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 $143,900 in 36904 versus $111,400 in 36908, with median rent of $731 and $983 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 73.4% vs 90.0%. 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.