ZIP 37318 vs ZIP 37324

This side-by-side compares ZIP 37318 (Cowan, TN) and ZIP 37324 (Decherd, TN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 37318 has a population of 1,978 at 64 people per square mile, while ZIP 37324 has 5,322 at 29 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 37318 reports a median household income of $52,125 against $50,417 in ZIP 37324, with per-capita income of $22,694 vs $32,871. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.9% in 37318 and 17.3% in 37324. Poverty rate reads 29.3% vs 11.7%, and unemployment 10.3% vs 4.0% — 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 $177,100 in 37318 versus $223,200 in 37324, with median rent of $781 and $869 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 63.1% vs 61.5%. 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.