ZIP 37303 vs ZIP 37331

This side-by-side compares ZIP 37303 (Athens, TN) and ZIP 37331 (Etowah, TN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 37303 has a population of 25,461 at 66 people per square mile, while ZIP 37331 has 7,656 at 71 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 37303 reports a median household income of $62,078 against $55,662 in ZIP 37331, with per-capita income of $33,280 vs $31,566. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.7% in 37303 and 20.6% in 37331. Poverty rate reads 13.7% vs 12.2%, and unemployment 5.1% vs 8.0% — 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 $232,100 in 37303 versus $193,700 in 37331, with median rent of $849 and $744 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 70.9% vs 75.2%. 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.