ZIP 39040 vs ZIP 39071

This side-by-side compares ZIP 39040 (Bentonia, MS) and ZIP 39071 (Flora, MS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 39040 has a population of 3,295 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 39071 has 5,346 at 18 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 39040 reports a median household income of $61,250 against $54,700 in ZIP 39071, with per-capita income of $28,005 vs $46,344. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.3% in 39040 and 36.3% in 39071. Poverty rate reads 8.6% vs 17.8%, and unemployment 5.5% vs 2.3% — 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 $212,200 in 39040 versus $311,500 in 39071, with median rent of $1,047 and $607 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 65.4% vs 71.6%. 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.