ZIP 48897 vs ZIP 48849

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48897 (Woodland, MI) and ZIP 48849 (Lake Odessa, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48897 has a population of 1,525 at 18 people per square mile, while ZIP 48849 has 5,717 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 48897 reports a median household income of $69,531 against $80,313 in ZIP 48849, with per-capita income of $35,316 vs $38,337. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.1% in 48897 and 21.6% in 48849. Poverty rate reads 6.8% vs 6.9%, and unemployment 6.5% vs 4.3% — 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 $224,600 in 48897 versus $223,600 in 48849, with median rent of $812 and $768 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.7% vs 87.0%. 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.