ZIP 38231 vs ZIP 38242

This side-by-side compares ZIP 38231 (Henry, TN) and ZIP 38242 (Paris, TN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 38231 has a population of 1,664 at 12 people per square mile, while ZIP 38242 has 20,151 at 42 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 38231 reports a median household income of $37,188 against $47,938 in ZIP 38242, with per-capita income of $20,049 vs $30,294. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 10.7% in 38231 and 20.7% in 38242. Poverty rate reads 37.1% vs 19.7%, and unemployment 5.7% vs 3.3% — 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 $88,100 in 38231 versus $173,600 in 38242, with median rent of $759 and $782 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 70.3% vs 67.1%. 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.