ZIP 48917 vs ZIP 48813

This side-by-side compares ZIP 48917 (Lansing, MI) and ZIP 48813 (Charlotte, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 48917 has a population of 32,062 at 509 people per square mile, while ZIP 48813 has 21,182 at 48 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 48917 reports a median household income of $70,990 against $80,429 in ZIP 48813, with per-capita income of $45,066 vs $35,989. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 40.4% in 48917 and 19.0% in 48813. Poverty rate reads 10.1% vs 8.1%, and unemployment 5.3% vs 3.2% — 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 $222,900 in 48917 versus $192,800 in 48813, with median rent of $1,116 and $957 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 60.0% vs 80.8%. 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.