ZIP 37724 vs ZIP 40965

This side-by-side compares ZIP 37724 (Cumberland Gap, TN) and ZIP 40965 (Middlesboro, KY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 37724 has a population of 2,874 at 49 people per square mile, while ZIP 40965 has 13,570 at 73 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 37724 reports a median household income of $31,941 against $28,685 in ZIP 40965, with per-capita income of $22,434 vs $21,508. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 33.4% in 37724 and 18.0% in 40965. Poverty rate reads 23.6% vs 31.8%, and unemployment 5.5% vs 10.8% — 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 $149,400 in 37724 versus $95,200 in 40965, with median rent of $884 and $595 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 53.8% vs 54.1%. 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.