ZIP 39564 vs ZIP 39553

This side-by-side compares ZIP 39564 (Ocean Springs, MS) and ZIP 39553 (Gautier, MS) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 39564 has a population of 36,952 at 269 people per square mile, while ZIP 39553 has 17,174 at 251 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 39564 reports a median household income of $78,596 against $57,460 in ZIP 39553, with per-capita income of $41,542 vs $34,131. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 41.0% in 39564 and 21.6% in 39553. Poverty rate reads 6.3% vs 17.7%, and unemployment 5.7% vs 4.0% — 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 $235,600 in 39564 versus $165,600 in 39553, with median rent of $1,370 and $994 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 72.2% vs 71.6%. 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.