ZIP 48429 vs ZIP 48476

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48429 (Durand, MI) and ZIP 48476 (Vernon, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48429 has a population of 8,944 at 64 people per square mile, while ZIP 48476 has 577 at 838 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 48429 reports a median household income of $67,725 against $70,000 in ZIP 48476, with per-capita income of $34,465 vs $34,137. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.6% in 48429 and 14.5% in 48476. Poverty rate reads 6.5% vs 16.3%, and unemployment 2.0% vs 0.0% — 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 $160,700 in 48429 versus $134,100 in 48476, with median rent of $855 and $1,250 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.5% vs 94.9%. 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.