ZIP 48421 vs ZIP 48464

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48421 (Columbiaville, MI) and ZIP 48464 (Otter Lake, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48421 has a population of 6,647 at 63 people per square mile, while ZIP 48464 has 2,231 at 46 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 48421 reports a median household income of $71,114 against $81,417 in ZIP 48464, with per-capita income of $33,307 vs $42,254. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.9% in 48421 and 14.6% in 48464. Poverty rate reads 6.4% vs 14.9%, and unemployment 8.4% vs 10.3% — 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 $220,600 in 48421 versus $206,000 in 48464, with median rent of $654 and $1,333 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.5% vs 95.1%. 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.