ZIP 49078 vs ZIP 49070

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49078 (Otsego, MI) and ZIP 49070 (Martin, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49078 has a population of 8,902 at 72 people per square mile, while ZIP 49070 has 2,451 at 36 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 49078 reports a median household income of $77,778 against $68,750 in ZIP 49070, with per-capita income of $36,344 vs $34,495. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.7% in 49078 and 14.1% in 49070. Poverty rate reads 5.3% vs 8.1%, and unemployment 2.0% vs 5.0% — 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 $197,500 in 49078 versus $206,500 in 49070, with median rent of $1,128 and $713 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.1% vs 90.4%. 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.