ZIP 48173 vs ZIP 48183

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48173 (Rockwood, MI) and ZIP 48183 (Trenton, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48173 has a population of 12,700 at 427 people per square mile, while ZIP 48183 has 43,182 at 898 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 48173 reports a median household income of $94,094 against $83,508 in ZIP 48183, with per-capita income of $43,759 vs $40,624. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.0% in 48173 and 28.0% in 48183. Poverty rate reads 4.9% vs 9.7%, and unemployment 4.1% vs 5.8% — 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 $244,900 in 48173 versus $222,500 in 48183, with median rent of $1,164 and $1,097 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.1% vs 76.2%. 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.