ZIP 49120 vs ZIP 46637

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49120 (Niles, MI) and ZIP 46637 (South Bend, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49120 has a population of 37,122 at 122 people per square mile, while ZIP 46637 has 15,314 at 613 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 49120 reports a median household income of $65,148 against $71,462 in ZIP 46637, with per-capita income of $34,555 vs $41,732. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.1% in 49120 and 39.9% in 46637. Poverty rate reads 14.4% vs 11.3%, and unemployment 6.0% vs 5.9% — 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 $178,400 in 49120 versus $207,100 in 46637, with median rent of $906 and $1,163 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.1% vs 68.4%. 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.