ZIP 49095 vs ZIP 49061

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49095 (Vandalia, MI) and ZIP 49061 (Jones, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49095 has a population of 1,960 at 27 people per square mile, while ZIP 49061 has 1,622 at 17 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 49095 reports a median household income of $83,393 against $79,229 in ZIP 49061, with per-capita income of $59,208 vs $31,023. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.6% in 49095 and 15.5% in 49061. Poverty rate reads 8.7% vs 10.8%, and unemployment 8.3% vs 4.8% — 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 $264,300 in 49095 versus $223,500 in 49061, with median rent of $1,085 and $1,049 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.5% vs 87.7%. 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.