ZIP 48185 vs ZIP 48186

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48185 (Westland, 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 48185 has a population of 47,618 at 1,511 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 48185 reports a median household income of $60,854 against $65,187 in ZIP 48186, with per-capita income of $36,334 vs $32,037. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.8% in 48185 and 20.1% in 48186. Poverty rate reads 12.8% vs 16.5%, and unemployment 6.0% 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 $194,000 in 48185 versus $174,000 in 48186, with median rent of $1,166 and $1,130 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 56.8% 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.