ZIP 48809 vs ZIP 48838

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48809 (Belding, MI) and ZIP 48838 (Greenville, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48809 has a population of 11,015 at 52 people per square mile, while ZIP 48838 has 17,863 at 75 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 48809 reports a median household income of $71,071 against $70,176 in ZIP 48838, with per-capita income of $35,833 vs $34,047. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.2% in 48809 and 20.7% in 48838. Poverty rate reads 9.8% vs 10.8%, and unemployment 5.2% vs 4.3% — 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 $210,400 in 48809 versus $211,500 in 48838, with median rent of $888 and $907 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.1% vs 73.6%. 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.