ZIP 49026 vs ZIP 49055

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49026 (Bloomingdale, MI) and ZIP 49055 (Gobles, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49026 has a population of 2,186 at 29 people per square mile, while ZIP 49055 has 6,276 at 41 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 49026 reports a median household income of $68,203 against $62,083 in ZIP 49055, with per-capita income of $31,346 vs $32,640. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 15.9% in 49026 and 19.5% in 49055. Poverty rate reads 20.1% vs 14.9%, and unemployment 6.0% 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 $161,400 in 49026 versus $163,600 in 49055, with median rent of $956 and $888 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.0% vs 83.8%. 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.