ZIP 48851 vs ZIP 48875

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48851 (Lyons, MI) and ZIP 48875 (Portland, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48851 has a population of 2,365 at 29 people per square mile, while ZIP 48875 has 10,186 at 46 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 48851 reports a median household income of $65,726 against $94,216 in ZIP 48875, with per-capita income of $28,526 vs $45,839. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.2% in 48851 and 29.9% in 48875. Poverty rate reads 9.2% vs 5.0%, and unemployment 9.8% vs 2.6% — 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 $158,000 in 48851 versus $227,500 in 48875, with median rent of $1,073 and $1,055 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.2% vs 78.9%. 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.