ZIP 49004 vs ZIP 49074

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49004 (Kalamazoo, MI) and ZIP 49074 (Nazareth, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49004 has a population of 15,645 at 287 people per square mile, while ZIP 49074 has 149 at 811 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 49004 reports a median household income of $73,453 against $33,750 in ZIP 49074, with per-capita income of $37,744 vs $15,743. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 34.7% in 49004 and 23.2% in 49074. Poverty rate reads 8.8% vs 53.1%, and unemployment 8.8% vs 0.0% — 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 $192,300 in 49004 versus — in 49074, with median rent of $1,141 and $425 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 74.5% vs 0.0%. 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.