ZIP 48419 vs ZIP 48401

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48419 (Carsonville, MI) and ZIP 48401 (Applegate, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48419 has a population of 2,740 at 14 people per square mile, while ZIP 48401 has 1,439 at 17 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 48419 reports a median household income of $59,485 against $70,536 in ZIP 48401, with per-capita income of $34,464 vs $37,096. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.3% in 48419 and 13.9% in 48401. Poverty rate reads 10.3% vs 13.4%, and unemployment 6.4% vs 3.0% — 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 $172,900 in 48419 versus $162,700 in 48401, with median rent of $846 and $938 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.6% vs 81.2%. 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.