ZIP 38486 vs ZIP 38481

This side-by-side compares ZIP 38486 (Westpoint, TN) and ZIP 38481 (Saint Joseph, TN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 38486 has a population of 967 at 5 people per square mile, while ZIP 38481 has 896 at 30 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 38486 reports a median household income of $48,953 against $49,567 in ZIP 38481, with per-capita income of $30,385 vs $44,422. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 10.7% in 38486 and 16.1% in 38481. Poverty rate reads 7.3% vs 16.6%, and unemployment 3.0% vs 0.7% — 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 $165,600 in 38486 versus $192,700 in 38481, with median rent of — and $628 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.2% vs 84.3%. 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.