ZIP 49270 vs ZIP 48131

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49270 (Petersburg, MI) and ZIP 48131 (Dundee, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49270 has a population of 5,874 at 51 people per square mile, while ZIP 48131 has 6,764 at 52 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 49270 reports a median household income of $94,840 against $85,747 in ZIP 48131, with per-capita income of $46,660 vs $45,965. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.5% in 49270 and 34.6% in 48131. Poverty rate reads 5.7% vs 4.3%, and unemployment 3.7% vs 3.5% — 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 $297,600 in 49270 versus $274,200 in 48131, with median rent of $918 and $1,243 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 92.3% vs 69.6%. 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.