ZIP 39145 vs ZIP 39117

This side-by-side compares ZIP 39145 (Pelahatchie, MS) and ZIP 39117 (Morton, MS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 39145 has a population of 5,170 at 15 people per square mile, while ZIP 39117 has 10,697 at 16 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 39145 reports a median household income of $64,318 against $58,438 in ZIP 39117, with per-capita income of $30,889 vs $26,240. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.2% in 39145 and 14.1% in 39117. Poverty rate reads 8.7% vs 17.1%, and unemployment 1.6% vs 6.3% — 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 $165,000 in 39145 versus $132,800 in 39117, with median rent of $1,002 and $962 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.1% vs 72.6%. 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.