ZIP 38017 vs ZIP 38139

This side-by-side compares ZIP 38017 (Collierville, TN) and ZIP 38139 (Germantown, TN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 38017 has a population of 48,642 at 222 people per square mile, while ZIP 38139 has 16,086 at 700 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 38017 reports a median household income of $138,677 against $178,661 in ZIP 38139, with per-capita income of $65,812 vs $85,385. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 61.4% in 38017 and 75.1% in 38139. Poverty rate reads 3.4% vs 1.5%, and unemployment 3.9% vs 1.8% — 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 $495,200 in 38017 versus $575,500 in 38139, with median rent of $1,609 and $2,697 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.4% vs 97.2%. 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.