ZIP 39307 vs ZIP 39323

This side-by-side compares ZIP 39307 (Meridian, MS) and ZIP 39323 (Chunky, MS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 39307 has a population of 18,603 at 75 people per square mile, while ZIP 39323 has 1,290 at 9 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 39307 reports a median household income of $30,413 against $56,944 in ZIP 39323, with per-capita income of $18,096 vs $25,102. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.1% in 39307 and 19.6% in 39323. Poverty rate reads 38.0% vs 15.5%, and unemployment 4.8% vs 2.6% — 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 $91,300 in 39307 versus $98,800 in 39323, with median rent of $863 and $1,391 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 55.2% vs 80.0%. 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.