ZIP 49269 vs ZIP 49283

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49269 (Parma, MI) and ZIP 49283 (Spring Arbor, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49269 has a population of 5,998 at 39 people per square mile, while ZIP 49283 has 4,362 at 124 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 49269 reports a median household income of $86,699 against $108,464 in ZIP 49283, with per-capita income of $34,558 vs $28,965. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.5% in 49269 and 33.9% in 49283. Poverty rate reads 7.9% vs 5.9%, and unemployment 7.2% vs 2.3% — 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 $217,100 in 49269 versus $218,400 in 49283, with median rent of $1,025 and $1,244 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.9% vs 76.9%. 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.