ZIP 48876 vs ZIP 48821

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48876 (Potterville, MI) and ZIP 48821 (Dimondale, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48876 has a population of 4,014 at 112 people per square mile, while ZIP 48821 has 5,836 at 106 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 48876 reports a median household income of $74,594 against $107,440 in ZIP 48821, with per-capita income of $32,809 vs $47,345. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.6% in 48876 and 38.2% in 48821. Poverty rate reads 9.4% vs 2.9%, and unemployment 5.2% vs 3.4% — 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 $186,900 in 48876 versus $244,000 in 48821, with median rent of $1,138 and $1,065 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 70.2% vs 94.3%. 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.