ZIP 38241 vs ZIP 38224

This side-by-side compares ZIP 38241 (Palmersville, TN) and ZIP 38224 (Cottage Grove, TN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 38241 has a population of 898 at 5 people per square mile, while ZIP 38224 has 956 at 7 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 38241 reports a median household income of $64,125 against $58,182 in ZIP 38224, with per-capita income of $36,938 vs $28,387. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.5% in 38241 and 12.2% in 38224. Poverty rate reads 10.2% vs 13.1%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 6.0% — 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 $105,700 in 38241 versus $130,800 in 38224, with median rent of $555 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.4% vs 76.9%. 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.