ZIP 38242 vs ZIP 38251

This side-by-side compares ZIP 38242 (Paris, TN) and ZIP 38251 (Puryear, TN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 38242 has a population of 20,151 at 42 people per square mile, while ZIP 38251 has 2,751 at 12 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 38242 reports a median household income of $47,938 against $54,449 in ZIP 38251, with per-capita income of $30,294 vs $27,727. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.7% in 38242 and 23.6% in 38251. Poverty rate reads 19.7% vs 15.5%, and unemployment 3.3% vs 10.0% — 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 $173,600 in 38242 versus $136,900 in 38251, with median rent of $782 and $679 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 67.1% vs 87.9%. 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.