ZIP 38255 vs ZIP 38237

This side-by-side compares ZIP 38255 (Sharon, TN) and ZIP 38237 (Martin, TN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 38255 has a population of 2,299 at 19 people per square mile, while ZIP 38237 has 16,627 at 49 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 38255 reports a median household income of $45,990 against $51,670 in ZIP 38237, with per-capita income of $30,390 vs $27,909. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.8% in 38255 and 29.0% in 38237. Poverty rate reads 12.7% vs 20.8%, and unemployment 5.9% vs 4.8% — 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 $110,400 in 38255 versus $200,900 in 38237, with median rent of $617 and $853 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 74.5% vs 55.4%. 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.