ZIP 49229 vs ZIP 49238

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49229 (Britton, MI) and ZIP 49238 (Deerfield, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49229 has a population of 3,245 at 23 people per square mile, while ZIP 49238 has 1,735 at 24 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 49229 reports a median household income of $94,950 against $75,054 in ZIP 49238, with per-capita income of $39,473 vs $29,385. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.3% in 49229 and 14.0% in 49238. Poverty rate reads 7.1% vs 22.6%, and unemployment 9.6% vs 3.3% — 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 $226,600 in 49229 versus $208,200 in 49238, with median rent of $980 and $1,094 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.9% vs 84.8%. 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.