ZIP 49285 vs ZIP 49259

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49285 (Stockbridge, MI) and ZIP 49259 (Munith, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49285 has a population of 5,720 at 30 people per square mile, while ZIP 49259 has 2,523 at 35 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 49285 reports a median household income of $73,375 against $66,500 in ZIP 49259, with per-capita income of $39,806 vs $35,045. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.3% in 49285 and 22.7% in 49259. Poverty rate reads 6.3% vs 6.3%, and unemployment 4.1% vs 14.0% — 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 $210,100 in 49285 versus $208,300 in 49259, with median rent of $858 and $1,094 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.3% vs 91.4%. 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.