ZIP 38863 vs ZIP 38841

This side-by-side compares ZIP 38863 (Pontotoc, MS) and ZIP 38841 (Ecru, MS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 38863 has a population of 19,788 at 27 people per square mile, while ZIP 38841 has 2,775 at 34 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 38863 reports a median household income of $49,528 against $54,007 in ZIP 38841, with per-capita income of $27,690 vs $24,049. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.7% in 38863 and 10.2% in 38841. Poverty rate reads 14.6% vs 11.0%, and unemployment 3.3% vs 5.9% — 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 $156,400 in 38863 versus $205,900 in 38841, with median rent of $864 and $883 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 68.0% 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.