ZIP 39157 vs ZIP 39174

This side-by-side compares ZIP 39157 (Ridgeland, MS) and ZIP 39174 (Tougaloo, MS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 39157 has a population of 24,645 at 311 people per square mile, while ZIP 39174 has 715 at 299 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 39157 reports a median household income of $66,068 against — in ZIP 39174, with per-capita income of $51,074 vs $6,036. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 51.7% in 39157 and — in 39174. Poverty rate reads 9.9% vs —, and unemployment 4.1% vs 15.1% — 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 $275,000 in 39157 versus — in 39174, with median rent of $1,337 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 47.3% vs —. 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.