ZIP 49071 vs ZIP 49079

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49071 (Mattawan, MI) and ZIP 49079 (Paw Paw, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49071 has a population of 9,174 at 124 people per square mile, while ZIP 49079 has 13,606 at 63 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 49071 reports a median household income of $108,629 against $73,333 in ZIP 49079, with per-capita income of $47,499 vs $35,350. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 38.6% in 49071 and 24.8% in 49079. Poverty rate reads 4.8% vs 11.8%, and unemployment 2.9% vs 3.4% — 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 $284,800 in 49071 versus $234,400 in 49079, with median rent of $1,250 and $859 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 90.8% vs 78.4%. 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.