ZIP 48441 vs ZIP 48470

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48441 (Harbor Beach, MI) and ZIP 48470 (Ruth, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48441 has a population of 4,085 at 16 people per square mile, while ZIP 48470 has 784 at 8 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 48441 reports a median household income of $50,765 against $58,594 in ZIP 48470, with per-capita income of $32,033 vs $33,107. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.8% in 48441 and 15.5% in 48470. Poverty rate reads 12.5% vs 15.8%, and unemployment 4.9% vs 1.9% — 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 $154,000 in 48441 versus $188,500 in 48470, with median rent of $663 and $930 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.1% vs 84.1%. 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.