ZIP 39042 vs ZIP 39145

This side-by-side compares ZIP 39042 (Brandon, MS) and ZIP 39145 (Pelahatchie, MS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 39042 has a population of 34,198 at 59 people per square mile, while ZIP 39145 has 5,170 at 15 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 39042 reports a median household income of $88,597 against $64,318 in ZIP 39145, with per-capita income of $39,183 vs $30,889. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 35.0% in 39042 and 19.2% in 39145. Poverty rate reads 8.8% vs 8.7%, and unemployment 4.4% vs 1.6% — 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 $264,200 in 39042 versus $165,000 in 39145, with median rent of $1,252 and $1,002 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.6% vs 82.1%. 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.