ZIP 48476 vs ZIP 48429

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