ZIP 37186 vs ZIP 42120

This side-by-side compares ZIP 37186 (Westmoreland, TN) and ZIP 42120 (Adolphus, KY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 37186 has a population of 9,184 at 34 people per square mile, while ZIP 42120 has 2,588 at 22 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 37186 reports a median household income of $59,545 against $64,958 in ZIP 42120, with per-capita income of $29,825 vs $25,838. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 10.4% in 37186 and 26.2% in 42120. Poverty rate reads 15.0% vs 7.7%, and unemployment 3.1% vs 8.4% — 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 $221,500 in 37186 versus $178,500 in 42120, with median rent of $988 and $859 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 70.6% vs 92.1%. 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.