ZIP 38039 vs ZIP 38046

This side-by-side compares ZIP 38039 (Grand Junction, TN) and ZIP 38046 (La Grange, TN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 38039 has a population of 1,804 at 11 people per square mile, while ZIP 38046 has 108 at 10 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 38039 reports a median household income of $39,020 against — in ZIP 38046, with per-capita income of $24,551 vs $43,845. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 7.8% in 38039 and 45.5% in 38046. Poverty rate reads 23.5% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 9.0% vs 0.0% — 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 $111,900 in 38039 versus $362,500 in 38046, with median rent of $806 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.4% vs 100.0%. 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.