ZIP 49034 vs ZIP 49052

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49034 (Climax, MI) and ZIP 49052 (Fulton, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49034 has a population of 2,389 at 24 people per square mile, while ZIP 49052 has 975 at 12 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 49034 reports a median household income of $73,929 against $63,889 in ZIP 49052, with per-capita income of $36,471 vs $27,556. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.0% in 49034 and 15.2% in 49052. Poverty rate reads 8.0% vs 9.0%, and unemployment 12.3% vs 13.4% — 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 $213,600 in 49034 versus $202,900 in 49052, with median rent of $854 and $675 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.6% vs 91.3%. 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.