ZIP 48206 vs ZIP 48202

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48206 (Detroit, MI) and ZIP 48202 (Detroit, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48206 has a population of 21,954 at 2,712 people per square mile, while ZIP 48202 has 16,603 at 1,927 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 48206 reports a median household income of $45,046 against $43,627 in ZIP 48202, with per-capita income of $28,382 vs $34,259. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.1% in 48206 and 39.7% in 48202. Poverty rate reads 24.8% vs 27.9%, and unemployment 18.7% vs 9.1% — 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 $116,300 in 48206 versus $186,500 in 48202, with median rent of $965 and $981 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 53.6% vs 30.9%. 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.