ZIP 38851 vs ZIP 38860

This side-by-side compares ZIP 38851 (Houston, MS) and ZIP 38860 (Okolona, MS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 38851 has a population of 8,408 at 15 people per square mile, while ZIP 38860 has 5,663 at 17 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 38851 reports a median household income of $45,365 against $41,293 in ZIP 38860, with per-capita income of $24,569 vs $22,263. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 15.6% in 38851 and 8.1% in 38860. Poverty rate reads 19.7% vs 26.1%, and unemployment 3.1% vs 7.9% — 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 $142,900 in 38851 versus $100,400 in 38860, with median rent of $701 and $605 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 72.7% vs 64.2%. 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.