ZIP 49251 vs ZIP 49277

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49251 (Leslie, MI) and ZIP 49277 (Rives Junction, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49251 has a population of 6,229 at 41 people per square mile, while ZIP 49277 has 3,668 at 40 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 49251 reports a median household income of $85,253 against $91,912 in ZIP 49277, with per-capita income of $36,082 vs $37,567. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.2% in 49251 and 23.5% in 49277. Poverty rate reads 8.6% vs 5.8%, and unemployment 5.8% vs 6.9% — 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 $206,300 in 49251 versus $217,500 in 49277, with median rent of $1,070 and $1,708 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.0% vs 95.3%. 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.