ZIP 48238 vs ZIP 48204

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48238 (Detroit, MI) and ZIP 48204 (Detroit, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48238 has a population of 31,743 at 2,271 people per square mile, while ZIP 48204 has 27,997 at 2,157 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 48238 reports a median household income of $33,315 against $34,468 in ZIP 48204, with per-capita income of $20,989 vs $22,682. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.5% in 48238 and 11.0% in 48204. Poverty rate reads 35.0% vs 36.0%, and unemployment 19.2% vs 17.5% — 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 $64,800 in 48238 versus $59,200 in 48204, with median rent of $1,010 and $1,052 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 47.0% vs 55.0%. 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.