ZIP 38610 vs ZIP 38663

This side-by-side compares ZIP 38610 (Blue Mountain, MS) and ZIP 38663 (Ripley, MS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 38610 has a population of 3,542 at 14 people per square mile, while ZIP 38663 has 11,950 at 23 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 38610 reports a median household income of $51,675 against $52,141 in ZIP 38663, with per-capita income of $26,614 vs $29,966. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 10.6% in 38610 and 23.0% in 38663. Poverty rate reads 10.0% vs 22.9%, and unemployment 2.4% vs 6.8% — 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 $92,900 in 38610 versus $148,200 in 38663, with median rent of $959 and $770 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.6% vs 74.7%. 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.