ZIP 48625 vs ZIP 48617

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48625 (Harrison, MI) and ZIP 48617 (Clare, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48625 has a population of 13,152 at 21 people per square mile, while ZIP 48617 has 8,857 at 25 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 48625 reports a median household income of $43,030 against $58,321 in ZIP 48617, with per-capita income of $27,795 vs $28,864. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 9.2% in 48625 and 17.1% in 48617. Poverty rate reads 24.7% vs 20.0%, and unemployment 15.6% vs 5.2% — 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 $117,100 in 48625 versus $160,100 in 48617, with median rent of $629 and $842 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.7% vs 77.6%. 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.