ZIP 49009 vs ZIP 49024

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49009 (Kalamazoo, MI) and ZIP 49024 (Portage, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49009 has a population of 42,362 at 159 people per square mile, while ZIP 49024 has 28,552 at 643 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 49009 reports a median household income of $80,930 against $91,105 in ZIP 49024, with per-capita income of $48,560 vs $48,240. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 49.0% in 49009 and 51.8% in 49024. Poverty rate reads 11.6% vs 7.3%, and unemployment 6.1% vs 5.3% — 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 $346,600 in 49009 versus $267,400 in 49024, with median rent of $1,137 and $1,234 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 64.4% vs 68.5%. 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.