ZIP 48849 vs ZIP 48897

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48849 (Lake Odessa, MI) and ZIP 48897 (Woodland, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48849 has a population of 5,717 at 27 people per square mile, while ZIP 48897 has 1,525 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 48849 reports a median household income of $80,313 against $69,531 in ZIP 48897, with per-capita income of $38,337 vs $35,316. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.6% in 48849 and 16.1% in 48897. Poverty rate reads 6.9% vs 6.8%, and unemployment 4.3% vs 6.5% — 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 $223,600 in 48849 versus $224,600 in 48897, with median rent of $768 and $812 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.0% vs 86.7%. 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.