ZIP 49245 vs ZIP 49252

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49245 (Homer, MI) and ZIP 49252 (Litchfield, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49245 has a population of 4,845 at 19 people per square mile, while ZIP 49252 has 2,605 at 26 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 49245 reports a median household income of $62,206 against $55,762 in ZIP 49252, with per-capita income of $31,813 vs $29,446. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.7% in 49245 and 14.8% in 49252. Poverty rate reads 17.3% vs 10.1%, and unemployment 4.1% vs 6.1% — 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 $152,500 in 49245 versus $144,800 in 49252, with median rent of $849 and $739 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.3% vs 80.2%. 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.