ZIP 48118 vs ZIP 49240

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48118 (Chelsea, MI) and ZIP 49240 (Grass Lake, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48118 has a population of 12,552 at 55 people per square mile, while ZIP 49240 has 8,703 at 32 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 48118 reports a median household income of $88,278 against $99,681 in ZIP 49240, with per-capita income of $52,799 vs $50,282. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 51.3% in 48118 and 31.9% in 49240. Poverty rate reads 3.0% vs 4.2%, and unemployment 3.0% vs 2.0% — 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 $357,200 in 48118 versus $298,700 in 49240, with median rent of $1,636 and $1,135 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.2% vs 92.6%. 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.