ZIP 31551 vs ZIP 31518

This side-by-side compares ZIP 31551 (Mershon, GA) and ZIP 31518 (Bristol, GA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 31551 has a population of 1,020 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 31518 has 704 at 6 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 31551 reports a median household income of $45,565 against $92,563 in ZIP 31518, with per-capita income of $23,631 vs $31,653. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 5.5% in 31551 and 17.4% in 31518. Poverty rate reads 17.8% vs 10.7%, and unemployment 1.8% vs 0.6% — 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 $75,500 in 31551 versus $196,200 in 31518, with median rent of $845 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.6% vs 92.8%. 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.