ZIP 48843 vs ZIP 48116

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48843 (Howell, MI) and ZIP 48116 (Brighton, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48843 has a population of 42,931 at 184 people per square mile, while ZIP 48116 has 26,432 at 279 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 48843 reports a median household income of $94,577 against $106,763 in ZIP 48116, with per-capita income of $47,075 vs $57,502. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 38.0% in 48843 and 51.8% in 48116. Poverty rate reads 5.5% vs 5.0%, and unemployment 4.5% vs 3.5% — 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 $348,400 in 48843 versus $385,900 in 48116, with median rent of $1,313 and $1,215 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.0% vs 85.3%. 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.