ZIP 48340 vs ZIP 48342

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48340 (Pontiac, MI) and ZIP 48342 (Pontiac, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48340 has a population of 24,307 at 1,251 people per square mile, while ZIP 48342 has 18,407 at 1,240 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 48340 reports a median household income of $47,891 against $35,253 in ZIP 48342, with per-capita income of $26,623 vs $21,373. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.9% in 48340 and 10.2% in 48342. Poverty rate reads 21.4% vs 31.7%, and unemployment 10.0% vs 13.0% — 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 $119,900 in 48340 versus $101,300 in 48342, with median rent of $1,135 and $999 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 45.7% vs 40.5%. 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.