ZIP 48329 vs ZIP 48346

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48329 (Waterford, MI) and ZIP 48346 (Clarkston, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48329 has a population of 25,009 at 947 people per square mile, while ZIP 48346 has 22,567 at 486 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 48329 reports a median household income of $85,709 against $101,477 in ZIP 48346, with per-capita income of $43,640 vs $50,015. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 30.0% in 48329 and 42.8% in 48346. Poverty rate reads 6.7% vs 5.3%, and unemployment 4.3% vs 2.9% — 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 $270,800 in 48329 versus $325,400 in 48346, with median rent of $1,184 and $1,436 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.4% vs 69.1%. 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.