ZIP 42050 vs ZIP 38261

This side-by-side compares ZIP 42050 (Hickman, KY) and ZIP 38261 (Union City, TN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 42050 has a population of 3,256 at 11 people per square mile, while ZIP 38261 has 16,919 at 35 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 42050 reports a median household income of $41,800 against $55,876 in ZIP 38261, with per-capita income of $22,420 vs $30,444. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.6% in 42050 and 21.3% in 38261. Poverty rate reads 20.4% vs 19.9%, and unemployment 5.6% vs 5.4% — 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 $77,100 in 42050 versus $153,400 in 38261, with median rent of $427 and $761 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 65.3% vs 61.2%. 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.