ZIP 48229 vs ZIP 48218

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48229 (Ecorse, MI) and ZIP 48218 (River Rouge, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48229 has a population of 9,556 at 1,318 people per square mile, while ZIP 48218 has 7,903 at 1,150 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 48229 reports a median household income of $40,264 against $41,033 in ZIP 48218, with per-capita income of $21,271 vs $22,582. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 8.4% in 48229 and 6.6% in 48218. Poverty rate reads 29.4% vs 39.8%, and unemployment 8.2% vs 11.4% — 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 $65,400 in 48229 versus $65,200 in 48218, with median rent of $840 and $839 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 62.1% vs 57.3%. 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.