Tupelo, MS
Lee County · Mississippi · United States
Home to 29,817 people across 72.981 square miles.
At a glance
38801 by the numbers
Every figure below comes from the 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the Census Gazetteer, or is computed from those. Margins of error are shown where they matter.
Location
Where 38801 is
| Coordinates | 34.222629, -88.774588 |
|---|---|
| Time zone | America/Chicago |
| County | Lee County |
| State | Mississippi (MS) |
| Land area | 72.981 mi² |
| Coordinate source | Census ZCTA internal point |
Local time
America/Chicago
Current weather
Live from the National Weather Service
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Distance to major cities
Straight-line, computed from coordinates
| Atlanta, GA | 253.4 mi |
|---|---|
| Dallas, TX | 472.8 mi |
| Houston, TX | 494.2 mi |
| Chicago, IL | 532.6 mi |
People
Who lives in 38801
29,817 residents in 11,550 households, averaging 2.58 people per household. The largest age group is under 18 at 26.0% of residents.
Age distribution
Share of residents by age band
Households
Composition and size
| Total households | 11,550 |
|---|---|
| Average household size | 2.58 |
| Family households | 66.5% |
| Living alone | 30.2% |
| Median age | 35.8 years |
| Households with internet | 78.2% |
Race & ethnicity
Census race categories. Hispanic or Latino origin is asked separately and overlaps these groups.
Income & work
What people earn in 38801
The median household here earns $63,447 a year, below the US median of $70,109, which puts 38801 ahead of 39% of American ZIP codes. 15.8% of residents live below the poverty line.
Compared to the US
This ZIP against the national median
| Median household income | $63,447 ±$4,436 |
|---|---|
| Per capita income | $32,518 |
| Poverty rate | 15.8% |
| Unemployment rate | 5.4% |
| Labor force participation | 66.2% |
Household income distribution
Share of households in each bracket
Educational attainment among residents 25 and older: 28.8% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 86.4% finished high school.
Housing
Homes and rent in 38801
A typical home is valued at $187,600, and median rent runs $954 a month. This is an owner-majority area — 61.0% of occupied homes are owned, and the typical building went up in 1984.
Costs
Typical values
| Median home value | $187,600 |
|---|---|
| Median gross rent | $954/mo |
| Median year built | 1984 |
| Housing units | 13,717 |
| Vacancy rate | 15.8% |
Own vs. rent
Of 11,550 occupied units
| Owner households | 7,042 |
|---|---|
| Renter households | 4,508 |
Building types
Units by structure size
Getting to work
How 38801 commutes
88.2% of workers drove alone, and the average one-way trip takes 21.0 minutes.
Mode of transport
Workers 16 and older
Travel time
Mean commute 21.0 minutes
Overview
Understanding ZIP code 38801
ZIP code 38801 is assigned to Tupelo, MS, and falls within Lee County. Like every US postal code, it began as a mail-routing device rather than a geographic boundary — the US Postal Service groups delivery routes under a single code so carriers and sorting equipment can process mail efficiently. Today it also serves as a practical shorthand for the area itself: roughly 29,817 people live inside it.
At 409 residents per square mile spread over 72.981 square miles, 38801 reads as a small-town area. It is a populous postal code, and density shapes almost everything else on this page — how people get to work, whether they own or rent, and what housing costs.
Household earnings run below the national median. At $63,447, 38801 sits in the lower half, ahead of 39% of them. The US median for comparison is $70,109. Bear in mind that median income describes the midpoint household, not the average — it is not pulled upward by a handful of very high earners the way a mean would be.
Living here
What life in Tupelo looks like
Housing in 38801 costs close to the national median. A typical home is valued at $187,600 against a US median of $207,500, and median gross rent runs $954 a month. The split between owning and renting is fairly even at 61.0% owner-occupied, which tends to indicate a mix of housing types rather than one dominant form.
The building stock is dominated by detached single-family houses, which account for 68.9% of housing units here. The median construction year is 1984, making the housing here from the later twentieth century.
The population skews younger than the country as a whole, with a median age of 35.8 against 42 nationally. The average household holds 2.58 people, and 66.5% are family households.
Getting to work takes 21.0 minutes on average one way. The dominant mode is drove alone at 88.2% of workers.
Where to stay
Where to stay in Tupelo, MS
Tupelo is a smaller community, so options inside 38801 may be limited to a handful of independent inns, motels or bed-and-breakfast properties. Travellers often widen the search to the surrounding area, where the choice is greater and prices are usually competitive.
Median rent in 38801 is $954 a month, which sits in the middle of the national range; accommodation pricing locally tends to be similarly mid-market. For reference, Atlanta, GA is about 253.4 miles away in a straight line, which is worth factoring in if you are comparing a stay here against one closer to the city centre.
Availability and pricing change constantly, so the live search below will give you a more accurate picture than any figure we could publish here. It opens results for this area on Booking.com.
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Practical uses
What ZIP code 38801 is used for
Beyond addressing mail, 38801 does a lot of quiet administrative work. Retailers use it to calculate shipping and sales tax at checkout. Insurers use it to set premiums, since risk profiles vary geographically. Employers and marketers use it to define service areas. Government agencies use it to route benefits and organise reporting. If you have ever been asked for a postal code by a form that clearly does not intend to send you anything, this is why.
For anyone weighing a move, 38801 offers a compact profile of Tupelo: 29,817 residents, a median household income of $63,447, 28.8% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 5.4%. A handful of figures like these answer more relocation questions than most neighbourhood guides do.
One caution worth repeating: a postal code is not a neighbourhood. 38801 may cover parts of several distinct areas, and a single neighbourhood in Tupelo may be split across more than one code. Boundaries also shift as USPS adjusts delivery routes. Treat the figures here as describing a delivery area, which is what they actually measure.
Nearby
ZIP codes near 38801
The eight closest postal codes by centroid distance, each with its own full profile. You can also browse every Mississippi ZIP code or use the ZIP Express Lookup to search by city, county or time zone.
Other ZIP codes in Tupelo
Tupelo is served by 4 postal codes.
More in Lee County
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Questions
Common questions about 38801
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Methodology
Where this data comes from
- Postal geography — GeoNames open postal code database (CC BY 4.0), cross-checked against the US Census Gazetteer.
- Demographics, income, housing, commute — US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-Year Estimates, ZIP Code Tabulation Area 38801. Tables B01001, B01002, B01003, B02001, B03003, B08301, B08303, B11001, B15003, B17001, B19001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25024, B25035, B25064, B25077, B28002.
- Land and water area — US Census Bureau 2023 Gazetteer Files.
- Weather — NOAA National Weather Service, fetched live in your browser.
- Map — OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).