ZIP 49234 vs ZIP 49233

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49234 (Clarklake, MI) and ZIP 49233 (Cement City, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49234 has a population of 2,579 at 45 people per square mile, while ZIP 49233 has 2,646 at 48 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 49234 reports a median household income of $110,313 against $81,250 in ZIP 49233, with per-capita income of $59,651 vs $41,066. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 32.9% in 49234 and 33.5% in 49233. Poverty rate reads 5.8% vs 13.0%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 3.8% — 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 $295,000 in 49234 versus $229,600 in 49233, with median rent of $1,288 and $1,012 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.6% vs 90.6%. 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.