ZIP 48184 vs ZIP 48186

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48184 (Wayne, MI) and ZIP 48186 (Westland, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48184 has a population of 17,643 at 969 people per square mile, while ZIP 48186 has 36,506 at 1,707 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 48184 reports a median household income of $59,171 against $65,187 in ZIP 48186, with per-capita income of $30,682 vs $32,037. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.6% in 48184 and 20.1% in 48186. Poverty rate reads 15.7% vs 16.5%, and unemployment 10.3% vs 5.9% — 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 $158,000 in 48184 versus $174,000 in 48186, with median rent of $974 and $1,130 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 60.8% vs 68.7%. 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.