ZIP 48886 vs ZIP 48850

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