ZIP 38221 vs ZIP 38256

This side-by-side compares ZIP 38221 (Big Sandy, TN) and ZIP 38256 (Springville, TN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 38221 has a population of 3,308 at 12 people per square mile, while ZIP 38256 has 3,089 at 20 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 38221 reports a median household income of $52,714 against $56,023 in ZIP 38256, with per-capita income of $28,742 vs $33,457. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 11.5% in 38221 and 14.6% in 38256. Poverty rate reads 19.0% vs 7.5%, and unemployment 8.4% vs 7.5% — 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 $139,100 in 38221 versus $166,400 in 38256, with median rent of $639 and $587 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 64.0% vs 82.5%. 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.