ZIP 39301 vs ZIP 39305

This side-by-side compares ZIP 39301 (Meridian, MS) and ZIP 39305 (Meridian, MS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 39301 has a population of 27,449 at 38 people per square mile, while ZIP 39305 has 20,431 at 72 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 39301 reports a median household income of $41,766 against $67,712 in ZIP 39305, with per-capita income of $25,765 vs $36,356. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.0% in 39301 and 36.4% in 39305. Poverty rate reads 27.8% vs 24.0%, and unemployment 6.6% vs 6.9% — 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 39301 versus $172,400 in 39305, with median rent of $905 and $1,155 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 60.4% vs 68.1%. 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.