ZIP 42049 vs ZIP 38251

This side-by-side compares ZIP 42049 (Hazel, KY) and ZIP 38251 (Puryear, TN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 42049 has a population of 1,480 at 13 people per square mile, while ZIP 38251 has 2,751 at 12 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 42049 reports a median household income of $52,917 against $54,449 in ZIP 38251, with per-capita income of $27,810 vs $27,727. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.4% in 42049 and 23.6% in 38251. Poverty rate reads 21.8% vs 15.5%, and unemployment 7.0% vs 10.0% — 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 $189,900 in 42049 versus $136,900 in 38251, with median rent of $730 and $679 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.3% vs 87.9%. 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.