ZIP 49228 vs ZIP 49276

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49228 (Blissfield, MI) and ZIP 49276 (Riga, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49228 has a population of 5,545 at 27 people per square mile, while ZIP 49276 has 1,003 at 17 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 49228 reports a median household income of $82,703 against $73,750 in ZIP 49276, with per-capita income of $38,203 vs $52,340. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.8% in 49228 and 31.0% in 49276. Poverty rate reads 3.3% vs 3.1%, and unemployment 3.4% vs 1.3% — 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 $196,500 in 49228 versus $192,600 in 49276, with median rent of $1,081 and $750 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.3% vs 95.2%. 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.