Rental market · ZIP 38620 · Courtland, MS

ZIP 38620, Courtland, MS rental market

Population 3,386 · Courtland, Panola County, MS · ZIP Code Tabulation Area

Ranked · ACS 2024 5-year

DGRADE
30.9/100 · Rental Investor ZIP Score
National rank #16,127 of 20,132 scored ZIP Codes
MS rank #122 of 229 · data confidence: moderate

Grade cut points, score out of 100: A from 63.7 · B from 54.7 · C from 42.4 · D from 28.1. This ZIP's 30.9 sits in the D band, which opens at 28.1 and ends below 42.4. The cut points are the model's own, read from the published ZIP dataset, and are identical for every ZIP Code area.

The four category scores that combine into the number above, on the model's own 0 to 100 score scale. These bars are not percentiles: for where those scores place this ZIP Code against every other scored one, see how this ZIP ranks below.

Cash Flow & Affordability ZIP data
51
Local Demand & Market Quality ZIP data
37
Surrounding-Market Growth county / place context
19
Stability & Risk ZIP + place context
49

Watch: the surrounding market is flat or declining. survey margins of error are wider here (data confidence: moderate).

Cash Flow & Affordability was scored using a measured (Zillow) home value, giving an effective price-to-income of 4.14×: the number this category's score is actually based on, which can differ from the ACS survey value shown elsewhere on this page.

A transparent screening score, not a return forecast. Affordable, higher-yield markets can score well when demand, liquidity, low vacancy, reliable government data and a growing surrounding market support them. Categories labeled “context” use official county/place data, never presented as ZIP-level observation. ZIP and city scores are not directly comparable. See how this score works.

How this ZIP ranks: nationally & in-state

Each bar places this ZIP against all 20,132 scored ZIP Codes nationally. The marker is this ZIP and further right is more favorable to an investor; the tick is the median. Every position here is a percentile: the 0–100 scores and the grade they earn are stated once, in the card above, and this card states once where those same five numbers place this ZIP Code.

Overall Rental Investor ZIP Score
20th percentile
Cash Flow & Affordability
52nd percentile
Local Demand & Market Quality
24th percentile
Surrounding-Market Growth county / place context
20th percentile
Stability & Risk ZIP + place context
53rd percentile
← 0th percentile50th (median)100th percentile →

Percentiles are the frozen model's own numbers among scored ZIP Codes (deterministic competition ranking); an unreliable or thin-peer in-state comparison reads “Not available,” never zero. All underlying figures are ACS survey estimates with margins of error. The comparability caveat and the method link for this score are stated once, in the card above.

What went into this score: 11 national factor percentiles

Cash Flow & Affordabilityweight 25% · category score 51

Gross rental yieldZIP observation
98th
Price to incomeZIP observation
44th
Rent as a share of incomeZIP observation
11th

Local Demand & Market Qualityweight 30% · category score 37

Population scaleZIP observation · scale, not quality
29th
Renter-household depthZIP observation · scale, not quality
26th
Renter share of householdsZIP observation
22nd
Rental vacancyZIP observation
86th
Market heat (Zillow measured)ZIP observation
20th

Surrounding-Market Growthweight 25% · category score 19

County population growthcounty context
19th

Stability & Riskweight 20% · category score 49

Median year builtZIP observation
80th
ACS data confidenceZIP observation
19th

Every figure here is the frozen model’s own national percentile for one factor, read from the published ZIP dataset: 11 of the 15 factors this model defines were available for this ZIP Code. 4 of them could not be measured here (property-tax burden, surrounding-market growth, surrounding-market stability, recently built share) and were left out of the average rather than filled in with a national guess. Higher is the direction the model treats as more favourable to a rental investor; population scale and renter-household depth are size, not quality. Each category score is the plain average of its own percentiles above; the overall score combines those four at the weights shown. The percentiles are published rounded to whole numbers, so averaging the printed figures lands a fraction of a point from the published score. This ZIP’s weakest category is 19, below the model’s published floor of 30, so the model applies its floor penalty and the overall score is lower than those four weighted together would be on their own. Nothing on this panel is recomputed here, and a factor percentile is not a score.

Key metrics

3,386
Population

±760 ±22% moderate

$105,800
Median home value (ACS, owner-reported)

±$35,000 ±33% wide

$938
Median gross rent (ACS, incl. utilities)

±$36 ±3.8% tight

10.6%
Survey gross-rent yield (proxy)

Derived from ACS estimates: no published margin of error

$45,539
Median household income

±$16,000 ±35% wide

0.0%
Rental vacancy

Derived from ACS estimates: no published margin of error

15.8%
Renter share

Derived from ACS estimates: no published margin of error

1990
Median year built

±6 years margin in years; a share of a year number would not mean anything

30.3%
Multifamily (5+ units)

Derived from ACS estimates: no published margin of error

Data vintage: ACS 2024 5-year · data confidence: moderate. Of the 9 figures above, 5 carry the Census Bureau's published 90% margin of error, printed on the card in the figure's own units and as a share of the estimate; and 4 are ratios derived from those estimates, which the Census Bureau publishes no margin for. The bar and the band word restate that printed share in three bands: tight under ±10%, moderate ±10% to ±25%, wide ±25% and over. A median year built is given a margin in years only, because a margin stated as a share of a year number would not mean anything; the bar is full at ±40%. A wider margin does not make an area worse, only less precisely measured.

Market context

Trend context

Loading home value context…

View source data

Each point is one ACS 5-year estimate on the same 2020-Census ZCTA boundary. Adjacent releases overlap, so the release-to-release differences are not independent annual market movement.

ACS estimates by release; ± is the margin of error.
Series2017–20212018–20222019–20232020–2024
Median home value B25077$85,200 ±$27,836$99,300 ±$26,073$105,600 ±$23,463$105,800 ±$34,807
Median gross rent B25064$783 ±$60$855 ±$79$937 ±$42$938 ±$36
Population B010033,626 ±8403,671 ±9633,639 ±6883,386 ±756

ACS 2021 release

2017-2021 five-year estimate

Median home value B25077
$85,200Margin of error ±$27,836
Median gross rent B25064
$783Margin of error ±$60
Population B01003
3,626Margin of error ±840

ACS 2022 release

2018-2022 five-year estimate

Median home value B25077
$99,300Margin of error ±$26,073
Median gross rent B25064
$855Margin of error ±$79
Population B01003
3,671Margin of error ±963

ACS 2023 release

2019-2023 five-year estimate

Median home value B25077
$105,600Margin of error ±$23,463
Median gross rent B25064
$937Margin of error ±$42
Population B01003
3,639Margin of error ±688

ACS 2024 release

2020-2024 five-year estimate

Median home value B25077
$105,800Margin of error ±$34,807
Median gross rent B25064
$938Margin of error ±$36
Population B01003
3,386Margin of error ±756

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year, table-based Summary File (ZCTA geography); tables B25077 (median value), B25064 (median gross rent), and B01003 (population); estimate + margin of error. Missing releases remain gaps and are never interpolated. Home value is owner-reported; gross rent describes renter housing stock; population is a ZCTA estimate. Dollar figures are nominal.

Measured market data

Measured observations for this ZIP Code, published beside the government survey figures above rather than replacing them. They measure different things and will legitimately disagree; the reconciliation below states on which axis, one axis at a time, instead of leaving a reader to guess. ZORI does not correct the ACS rent; neither is a better version of the other. Monthly series, revised in recent months, observed 2026-07, not live.

Why two figures for apparently the same thing differ: source, vintage, methodology and geography, stated one axis at a time.
FigureACS survey estimateZillow measured index
Typical home value$105,800±$35,000, the Census Bureau’s published 90% margin of error$188,535no published margin of error
Methodology typical home valueThe median of what owners themselves estimate their own home to be worth, across owner-occupied homes only.A smoothed index of the typical value of homes in the middle tier (35th to 65th percentile) of the local stock, whether or not they sold.
SourceU.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.Zillow Economic Research public research data.
VintageACS 2024 5-year: one estimate pooled over 2020–2024. Restated once a year, not monthly, and adjacent releases overlap.Monthly series, observed 2026-07 and revised in recent months. Not live.
Geography2020 Census ZIP Code Tabulation Area 38620.USPS ZIP code 38620: a related, but not identical, area.

The index for typical home value is $82,735 higher than the survey estimate, whose own 90% margin of error is ±$35,000: the two are separated by more than survey sampling error alone accounts for. A gap of either size is expected when the source, vintage, methodology and geography all differ, and is not evidence that either figure is wrong. Neither figure corrects the other, and no margin of error is implied for the index, which publishes none.

Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI, mid tier)$188,535
ZHVI bottom tier (5th–35th pct)$117,617
ZHVI top tier (65th–95th pct)$308,991
Market heat index39
For-sale inventory5
Measured 3-yr value growth-2.55%/yr
Measured 5-yr value growth1.31%/yr
Measured 10-yr value growth3.54%/yr
ZHVI, 2-bedroom$134,690
ZHVI, 3-bedroom$196,137

Measured value-growth signal: 6 of 100: this ZIP Code area ranks #18,265 of 19,419 ZIP Codes with a measured 3-year value growth rate. This is a separate national signal, published beside the overall score and deliberately not folded into it.

Source: Zillow Economic Research public research data, observation month 2026-07. Zillow keys on USPS ZIP codes; this page is a 2020 Census ZCTA, related but not identical geographies, so a Zillow value is matched to this ZCTA by code and is not a statement that the two areas are the same. Zillow is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, Compounding Estates.

Market Negotiation Leverage

Strong buyer leverage (80th percentile among scored ZIP Codes)

Derived from Zillow's market-heat index for this ZIP, inverted (a cooler market means more room for a buyer to negotiate). 5 active listings. This is a cross-sectional snapshot (how this ZIP compares to every other tracked ZIP today), not a seasonal or historical baseline for this specific ZIP (no multi-year time series exists to support that claim). Not a prediction of what any specific seller will accept. See how this is calculated.

Source: Zillow Economic Research public research data. Zillow is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, Compounding Estates.

Underwrite with these as starting points

Opening a calculator pre-loads the ACS median owner value and median gross rent as a survey-level starting point; every calculator input is editable. Owner-occupied median value and renter median gross rent describe different housing stock: the median-valued home is not the typical rental, so this is a screen, not a listing, appraisal, asking rent, cap rate, or forecast. Bring your own entry price and rent.

ZIP Codes bordering 38620

5 ZIP Code areas share a land boundary with 38620 in the official Census 2020 ZCTA map, ordered by shared-boundary length, not ZIP-number proximity or driving distance. 3 of them are in CE’s ranked set and are listed below, each with its own Rental Investor ZIP Score, grade and national rank, read from the same published dataset as this page. The rest are counted here and searchable from the ZIP Code explorer. A neighbour’s score is a score for that area, never for 38620, and this list is ordered by border length, so it is not a ranking and no neighbour is called best.

Evidence, sources & limitations

Official geography: Courtland town, Panola County. Analytical entity: the U.S. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) 38620, an approximation of the USPS ZIP delivery area, not its exact route boundaries. Model z3-measured-v1; data ACS 2024 5-year.

This ZIP Code area is primarily in Panola County, overlapping Courtland and other places, by land-area overlap from the official Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files (not population or address share).

Populationsurvey ACS B01003 · ±22% margin of error
Median home value (ACS, owner-reported)survey ACS B25077 · ±33% margin of error
Median gross rent (ACS, incl. utilities)survey ACS B25064 · ±3.8% margin of error
Survey gross-rent yield (proxy)derived 12 * ACS B25064 / B25077 · no published margin of error
Median household incomesurvey ACS B19013 · ±35% margin of error
Rental vacancyderived ACS B25004 E002 / (B25003 E003 + B25004 E002) · no published margin of error
Renter sharederived ACS B25003 E003/E001 · no published margin of error
Median year builtsurvey ACS B25035 · ±<1% margin of error
Multifamily (5+ units)derived ACS B25024 (5+ unit structures / total) · no published margin of error

Class: survey = ACS estimate (with margin of error); derived = computed from ACS. The survey gross-rent yield is a proxy (renter gross rent vs owner-occupied value, different housing stock; ACS top-codes very high values/rents) and is not a cap rate. Subscores are national percentiles among data-eligible areas; ranks are competition-ranked with deterministic ties. No vendor, listing, parcel, or school data. Not investment advice.