ZIP 49097 vs ZIP 49088

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49097 (Vicksburg, MI) and ZIP 49088 (Scotts, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49097 has a population of 10,326 at 54 people per square mile, while ZIP 49088 has 3,648 at 44 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 49097 reports a median household income of $88,208 against $100,208 in ZIP 49088, with per-capita income of $43,820 vs $53,618. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 32.9% in 49097 and 38.6% in 49088. Poverty rate reads 6.6% vs 2.5%, and unemployment 4.8% vs 3.9% — 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 $239,500 in 49097 versus $284,300 in 49088, with median rent of $1,007 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.2% vs 94.6%. 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.