ZIP 49203 vs ZIP 49201

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49203 (Jackson, MI) and ZIP 49201 (Jackson, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49203 has a population of 38,280 at 562 people per square mile, while ZIP 49201 has 45,190 at 114 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 49203 reports a median household income of $56,201 against $74,484 in ZIP 49201, with per-capita income of $32,080 vs $33,966. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.4% in 49203 and 23.4% in 49201. Poverty rate reads 14.2% vs 10.9%, and unemployment 6.5% vs 5.7% — 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 $159,100 in 49203 versus $215,900 in 49201, with median rent of $1,019 and $976 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 66.9% vs 74.2%. 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.