ZIP 48310 vs ZIP 48083

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48310 (Sterling Heights, MI) and ZIP 48083 (Troy, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48310 has a population of 42,766 at 1,952 people per square mile, while ZIP 48083 has 22,507 at 1,006 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 48310 reports a median household income of $78,058 against $90,794 in ZIP 48083, with per-capita income of $32,424 vs $46,653. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 29.0% in 48310 and 52.2% in 48083. Poverty rate reads 14.4% vs 9.3%, and unemployment 5.7% vs 4.0% — 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 $274,700 in 48310 versus $315,800 in 48083, with median rent of $1,398 and $1,340 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.4% vs 62.2%. 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.