ZIP 48626 vs ZIP 48637

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48626 (Hemlock, MI) and ZIP 48637 (Merrill, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48626 has a population of 6,078 at 37 people per square mile, while ZIP 48637 has 3,359 at 18 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 48626 reports a median household income of $84,360 against $65,865 in ZIP 48637, with per-capita income of $42,864 vs $32,546. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 32.2% in 48626 and 15.3% in 48637. Poverty rate reads 9.6% vs 15.1%, and unemployment 6.3% vs 11.9% — 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 $224,100 in 48626 versus $158,600 in 48637, with median rent of $1,103 and $740 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 93.2% vs 91.3%. 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.