ZIP 48179 vs ZIP 48173

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48179 (South Rockwood, MI) and ZIP 48173 (Rockwood, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48179 has a population of 3,274 at 62 people per square mile, while ZIP 48173 has 12,700 at 427 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 48179 reports a median household income of $77,095 against $94,094 in ZIP 48173, with per-capita income of $46,561 vs $43,759. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.5% in 48179 and 26.0% in 48173. Poverty rate reads 8.6% vs 4.9%, and unemployment 2.9% vs 4.1% — 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 $232,800 in 48179 versus $244,900 in 48173, with median rent of $1,350 and $1,164 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.5% vs 85.1%. 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.