ZIP 48217 vs ZIP 48122

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48217 (Detroit, MI) and ZIP 48122 (Melvindale, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48217 has a population of 8,210 at 1,389 people per square mile, while ZIP 48122 has 10,727 at 1,520 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 48217 reports a median household income of $44,447 against $42,185 in ZIP 48122, with per-capita income of $24,277 vs $20,408. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.5% in 48217 and 14.0% in 48122. Poverty rate reads 20.0% vs 39.1%, and unemployment 7.1% vs 6.1% — 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 $65,500 in 48217 versus $125,800 in 48122, with median rent of $966 and $1,110 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 63.3% vs 60.8%. 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.