ZIP 49221 vs ZIP 49287

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49221 (Adrian, MI) and ZIP 49287 (Tipton, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49221 has a population of 41,310 at 135 people per square mile, while ZIP 49287 has 2,099 at 29 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 49221 reports a median household income of $65,977 against $88,068 in ZIP 49287, with per-capita income of $31,437 vs $50,647. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.3% in 49221 and 19.0% in 49287. Poverty rate reads 15.5% vs 6.0%, and unemployment 4.5% vs 6.6% — 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 $170,400 in 49221 versus $263,300 in 49287, with median rent of $992 and $757 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.1% vs 90.2%. 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.