ZIP 48177 vs ZIP 48182

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48177 (Samaria, MI) and ZIP 48182 (Temperance, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48177 has a population of 218 at 135 people per square mile, while ZIP 48182 has 21,708 at 211 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 48177 reports a median household income of $81,818 against $84,375 in ZIP 48182, with per-capita income of $26,945 vs $45,239. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 8.2% in 48177 and 30.9% in 48182. Poverty rate reads 12.2% vs 5.2%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 3.7% — 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 $210,300 in 48177 versus $254,400 in 48182, with median rent of — and $1,328 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 93.0% vs 84.1%. 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.