ZIP 48203 vs ZIP 48030

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48203 (Highland Park, MI) and ZIP 48030 (Hazel Park, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48203 has a population of 28,409 at 1,369 people per square mile, while ZIP 48030 has 16,422 at 2,251 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 48203 reports a median household income of $38,404 against $67,073 in ZIP 48030, with per-capita income of $27,294 vs $38,937. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.7% in 48203 and 27.0% in 48030. Poverty rate reads 38.2% vs 12.3%, and unemployment 16.9% vs 5.1% — 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 $76,200 in 48203 versus $158,600 in 48030, with median rent of $801 and $1,314 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 51.3% vs 66.1%. 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.