ZIP 49051 vs ZIP 49011

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49051 (East Leroy, MI) and ZIP 49011 (Athens, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49051 has a population of 2,436 at 32 people per square mile, while ZIP 49011 has 2,285 at 27 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 49051 reports a median household income of $74,886 against $59,722 in ZIP 49011, with per-capita income of $41,882 vs $36,555. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.1% in 49051 and 13.2% in 49011. Poverty rate reads 3.8% vs 6.1%, and unemployment 3.1% vs 2.2% — 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 $259,500 in 49051 versus $158,600 in 49011, with median rent of $843 and $1,057 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 94.3% vs 84.9%. 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.