ZIP 38253 vs ZIP 38233

This side-by-side compares ZIP 38253 (Rives, TN) and ZIP 38233 (Kenton, TN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 38253 has a population of 1,156 at 8 people per square mile, while ZIP 38233 has 2,852 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 38253 reports a median household income of $69,954 against $60,000 in ZIP 38233, with per-capita income of $39,607 vs $26,550. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.6% in 38253 and 10.7% in 38233. Poverty rate reads 9.6% vs 19.6%, and unemployment 2.7% vs 1.8% — 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 $250,000 in 38253 versus $108,700 in 38233, with median rent of $683 and $707 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.7% vs 70.1%. 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.