ZIP 48603 vs ZIP 48638

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48603 (Saginaw, MI) and ZIP 48638 (Saginaw, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48603 has a population of 26,913 at 568 people per square mile, while ZIP 48638 has 12,922 at 755 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 48603 reports a median household income of $66,352 against $69,459 in ZIP 48638, with per-capita income of $41,492 vs $42,122. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 37.2% in 48603 and 34.4% in 48638. Poverty rate reads 14.2% vs 13.4%, and unemployment 5.8% vs 3.8% — 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 $186,800 in 48603 versus $172,600 in 48638, with median rent of $1,050 and $949 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 66.9% vs 62.1%. 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.