ZIP 39466 vs ZIP 39426

This side-by-side compares ZIP 39466 (Picayune, MS) and ZIP 39426 (Carriere, MS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 39466 has a population of 27,738 at 75 people per square mile, while ZIP 39426 has 16,301 at 36 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 39466 reports a median household income of $52,765 against $73,571 in ZIP 39426, with per-capita income of $29,058 vs $35,303. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.6% in 39466 and 22.0% in 39426. Poverty rate reads 19.9% vs 11.6%, and unemployment 5.6% vs 6.0% — 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 $173,400 in 39466 versus $208,000 in 39426, with median rent of $910 and $900 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 74.2% vs 88.4%. 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.