ZIP 37843 vs ZIP 37809

This side-by-side compares ZIP 37843 (Parrottsville, TN) and ZIP 37809 (Midway, TN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 37843 has a population of 3,725 at 28 people per square mile, while ZIP 37809 has 2,278 at 27 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 37843 reports a median household income of $58,021 against $50,192 in ZIP 37809, with per-capita income of $36,250 vs $22,302. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.3% in 37843 and 9.2% in 37809. Poverty rate reads 16.2% vs 24.9%, and unemployment 6.8% vs 11.8% — 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 $180,400 in 37843 versus $163,000 in 37809, with median rent of $728 and $825 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.3% vs 50.0%. 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.