ZIP 48162 vs ZIP 48161

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48162 (Monroe, MI) and ZIP 48161 (Monroe, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48162 has a population of 29,344 at 199 people per square mile, while ZIP 48161 has 26,470 at 228 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 48162 reports a median household income of $67,876 against $67,414 in ZIP 48161, with per-capita income of $36,647 vs $35,777. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.5% in 48162 and 19.3% in 48161. Poverty rate reads 13.8% vs 16.3%, and unemployment 4.3% vs 7.6% — 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 $200,200 in 48162 versus $176,200 in 48161, with median rent of $925 and $975 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.6% vs 76.4%. 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.