ZIP 41572 vs ZIP 41538

This side-by-side compares ZIP 41572 (Virgie, KY) and ZIP 41538 (Jonancy, KY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 41572 has a population of 3,754 at 32 people per square mile, while ZIP 41538 has 97 at 199 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 41572 reports a median household income of $40,028 against — in ZIP 41538, with per-capita income of $22,475 vs $26,484. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 9.7% in 41572 and 2.6% in 41538. Poverty rate reads 21.1% vs 2.8%, and unemployment 3.5% vs 12.5% — 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 $106,100 in 41572 versus $139,500 in 41538, with median rent of $935 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.4% vs 82.5%. 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.