ZIP 48854 vs ZIP 48842

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48854 (Mason, MI) and ZIP 48842 (Holt, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48854 has a population of 18,598 at 64 people per square mile, while ZIP 48842 has 20,432 at 439 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 48854 reports a median household income of $94,716 against $88,340 in ZIP 48842, with per-capita income of $41,464 vs $42,874. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 39.3% in 48854 and 40.0% in 48842. Poverty rate reads 4.9% vs 10.8%, and unemployment 4.0% vs 5.2% — 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 $248,600 in 48854 versus $225,900 in 48842, with median rent of $1,202 and $1,243 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.0% vs 66.5%. 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.