ZIP 39465 vs ZIP 39401

This side-by-side compares ZIP 39465 (Petal, MS) and ZIP 39401 (Hattiesburg, MS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 39465 has a population of 21,386 at 63 people per square mile, while ZIP 39401 has 43,366 at 87 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 39465 reports a median household income of $74,035 against $41,127 in ZIP 39401, with per-capita income of $32,508 vs $26,416. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.0% in 39465 and 29.4% in 39401. Poverty rate reads 10.4% vs 31.1%, and unemployment 2.8% vs 9.0% — 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 $185,700 in 39465 versus $134,300 in 39401, with median rent of $1,001 and $948 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.3% vs 43.6%. 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.