ZIP 49117 vs ZIP 49129

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49117 (New Buffalo, MI) and ZIP 49129 (Union Pier, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49117 has a population of 3,951 at 80 people per square mile, while ZIP 49129 has 609 at 47 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 49117 reports a median household income of $75,114 against $106,181 in ZIP 49129, with per-capita income of $63,180 vs $73,979. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 46.7% in 49117 and 71.9% in 49129. Poverty rate reads 15.0% vs 1.5%, and unemployment 9.7% vs 0.0% — 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 $488,000 in 49117 versus $654,200 in 49129, with median rent of $866 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.5% vs 93.8%. 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.