ZIP 48158 vs ZIP 49236

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48158 (Manchester, MI) and ZIP 49236 (Clinton, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48158 has a population of 7,309 at 30 people per square mile, while ZIP 49236 has 4,838 at 50 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 48158 reports a median household income of $94,784 against $79,783 in ZIP 49236, with per-capita income of $49,365 vs $36,902. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 37.6% in 48158 and 30.4% in 49236. Poverty rate reads 7.6% vs 8.6%, and unemployment 2.3% vs 6.2% — 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 $312,200 in 48158 versus $230,300 in 49236, with median rent of $948 and $783 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 90.1% vs 89.1%. 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.