ZIP 49055 vs ZIP 49026

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49055 (Gobles, MI) and ZIP 49026 (Bloomingdale, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49055 has a population of 6,276 at 41 people per square mile, while ZIP 49026 has 2,186 at 29 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 49055 reports a median household income of $62,083 against $68,203 in ZIP 49026, with per-capita income of $32,640 vs $31,346. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.5% in 49055 and 15.9% in 49026. Poverty rate reads 14.9% vs 20.1%, and unemployment 3.2% vs 6.0% — 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 $163,600 in 49055 versus $161,400 in 49026, with median rent of $888 and $956 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.8% vs 87.0%. 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.