ZIP 48221 vs ZIP 48238

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48221 (Detroit, MI) and ZIP 48238 (Detroit, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48221 has a population of 38,727 at 2,743 people per square mile, while ZIP 48238 has 31,743 at 2,271 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 48221 reports a median household income of $57,878 against $33,315 in ZIP 48238, with per-capita income of $31,080 vs $20,989. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 29.3% in 48221 and 13.5% in 48238. Poverty rate reads 22.3% vs 35.0%, and unemployment 12.5% vs 19.2% — 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 $154,600 in 48221 versus $64,800 in 48238, with median rent of $1,206 and $1,010 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 66.0% vs 47.0%. 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.