ZIP 37148 vs ZIP 37048

This side-by-side compares ZIP 37148 (Portland, TN) and ZIP 37048 (Cottontown, TN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 37148 has a population of 22,320 at 63 people per square mile, while ZIP 37048 has 6,030 at 53 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 37148 reports a median household income of $81,633 against $100,446 in ZIP 37048, with per-capita income of $33,493 vs $52,799. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 15.1% in 37148 and 29.0% in 37048. Poverty rate reads 10.8% vs 5.2%, and unemployment 4.3% vs 2.9% — 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 $295,000 in 37148 versus $434,400 in 37048, with median rent of $1,122 and $1,148 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.7% vs 88.1%. 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.