ZIP 49084 vs ZIP 49038

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49084 (Riverside, MI) and ZIP 49038 (Coloma, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49084 has a population of 36 at 737 people per square mile, while ZIP 49038 has 9,310 at 95 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 49084 reports a median household income of $54,375 against $62,636 in ZIP 49038, with per-capita income of $27,092 vs $37,953. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.9% in 49084 and 20.8% in 49038. Poverty rate reads 0.0% vs 11.2%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 3.7% — 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 $165,000 in 49084 versus $206,800 in 49038, with median rent of — and $938 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.2% vs 76.7%. 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.