ZIP 38261 vs ZIP 38257

This side-by-side compares ZIP 38261 (Union City, TN) and ZIP 38257 (South Fulton, TN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 38261 has a population of 16,919 at 35 people per square mile, while ZIP 38257 has 4,397 at 31 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 38261 reports a median household income of $55,876 against $58,849 in ZIP 38257, with per-capita income of $30,444 vs $31,560. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.3% in 38261 and 16.3% in 38257. Poverty rate reads 19.9% vs 18.7%, and unemployment 5.4% vs 2.6% — 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 $153,400 in 38261 versus $103,100 in 38257, with median rent of $761 and $795 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 61.2% vs 72.9%. 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.