ZIP 39051 vs ZIP 39189

This side-by-side compares ZIP 39051 (Carthage, MS) and ZIP 39189 (Walnut Grove, MS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 39051 has a population of 16,569 at 15 people per square mile, while ZIP 39189 has 5,263 at 26 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 39051 reports a median household income of $48,547 against $49,083 in ZIP 39189, with per-capita income of $27,572 vs $20,000. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.1% in 39051 and 12.9% in 39189. Poverty rate reads 20.6% vs 22.6%, and unemployment 7.7% vs 3.5% — 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 $119,400 in 39051 versus $101,400 in 39189, with median rent of $717 and $973 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.3% vs 64.8%. 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.