ZIP 38781 vs ZIP 38774

This side-by-side compares ZIP 38781 (Winstonville, MS) and ZIP 38774 (Shelby, MS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 38781 has a population of 252 at 98 people per square mile, while ZIP 38774 has 2,522 at 13 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 38781 reports a median household income of $2,499 against $19,811 in ZIP 38774, with per-capita income of $9,329 vs $11,363. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.8% in 38781 and 21.7% in 38774. Poverty rate reads 69.3% vs 57.0%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 18.9% — 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 $162,500 in 38781 versus $90,400 in 38774, with median rent of $375 and $690 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 35.5% vs 62.9%. 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.