ZIP 38601 vs ZIP 38685

This side-by-side compares ZIP 38601 (Abbeville, MS) and ZIP 38685 (Waterford, MS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 38601 has a population of 2,371 at 10 people per square mile, while ZIP 38685 has 1,347 at 6 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 38601 reports a median household income of $47,941 against $41,210 in ZIP 38685, with per-capita income of $22,923 vs $37,978. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.9% in 38601 and 3.8% in 38685. Poverty rate reads 12.5% vs 19.4%, and unemployment 0.8% vs 6.2% — 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 $190,000 in 38601 versus $124,100 in 38685, with median rent of $822 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.4% vs 95.1%. 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.