ZIP 48762 vs ZIP 49766

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48762 (Spruce, MI) and ZIP 49766 (Ossineke, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48762 has a population of 1,139 at 10 people per square mile, while ZIP 49766 has 2,417 at 21 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 48762 reports a median household income of $73,421 against $61,346 in ZIP 49766, with per-capita income of $41,692 vs $37,861. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.3% in 48762 and 16.8% in 49766. Poverty rate reads 8.4% vs 10.3%, and unemployment 2.3% vs 10.6% — 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 $214,900 in 48762 versus $161,800 in 49766, with median rent of — and $746 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 97.1% 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.