ZIP 48659 vs ZIP 48610

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48659 (Sterling, MI) and ZIP 48610 (Alger, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48659 has a population of 2,850 at 14 people per square mile, while ZIP 48610 has 3,083 at 10 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 48659 reports a median household income of $58,750 against $59,091 in ZIP 48610, with per-capita income of $28,446 vs $29,245. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.6% in 48659 and 14.3% in 48610. Poverty rate reads 17.2% vs 21.6%, and unemployment 4.0% vs 12.7% - 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 $146,200 in 48659 versus $150,200 in 48610, with median rent of $853 and $781 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.9% vs 93.0%. 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.