ZIP 39840 vs ZIP 39886

This side-by-side compares ZIP 39840 (Cuthbert, GA) and ZIP 39886 (Shellman, GA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 39840 has a population of 5,726 at 11 people per square mile, while ZIP 39886 has 1,616 at 5 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 39840 reports a median household income of $22,540 against $35,395 in ZIP 39886, with per-capita income of $19,225 vs $23,981. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 15.9% in 39840 and 16.0% in 39886. Poverty rate reads 32.1% vs 27.9%, and unemployment 9.6% vs 15.3% — 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 $77,600 in 39840 versus $99,500 in 39886, with median rent of $561 and $811 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 46.1% vs 60.4%. 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.