ZIP 48850 vs ZIP 48886

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48850 (Lakeview, MI) and ZIP 48886 (Six Lakes, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48850 has a population of 4,474 at 21 people per square mile, while ZIP 48886 has 2,116 at 27 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 48850 reports a median household income of $68,047 against $61,667 in ZIP 48886, with per-capita income of $30,041 vs $29,382. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.7% in 48850 and 14.9% in 48886. Poverty rate reads 13.5% vs 15.2%, and unemployment 6.2% vs 4.8% — 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 $178,400 in 48850 versus $165,600 in 48886, with median rent of $700 and $950 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.8% vs 90.7%. 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.