ZIP 38037 vs ZIP 38040

This side-by-side compares ZIP 38037 (Gates, TN) and ZIP 38040 (Halls, TN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 38037 has a population of 1,773 at 14 people per square mile, while ZIP 38040 has 5,193 at 18 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 38037 reports a median household income of $51,976 against $49,833 in ZIP 38040, with per-capita income of $23,560 vs $33,312. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 9.3% in 38037 and 10.8% in 38040. Poverty rate reads 28.1% vs 19.1%, and unemployment 14.1% vs 3.5% — 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 $88,700 in 38037 versus $148,800 in 38040, with median rent of $598 and $654 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 64.1% vs 59.8%. 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.