ZIP 38677 vs ZIP 38655

This side-by-side compares ZIP 38677 (University, MS) and ZIP 38655 (Oxford, MS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 38677 has a population of 4,198 at 2,183 people per square mile, while ZIP 38655 has 36,699 at 37 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 38677 reports a median household income of — against $68,235 in ZIP 38655, with per-capita income of $3,601 vs $41,492. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 80.0% in 38677 and 51.1% in 38655. Poverty rate reads — vs 19.4%, and unemployment 2.7% vs 2.2% — 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 — in 38677 versus $340,000 in 38655, with median rent of — and $1,090 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is — vs 60.4%. 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.