ZIP 49301 vs ZIP 49546

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49301 (Ada, MI) and ZIP 49546 (Grand Rapids, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49301 has a population of 18,701 at 127 people per square mile, while ZIP 49546 has 31,880 at 682 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 49301 reports a median household income of $183,125 against $99,343 in ZIP 49546, with per-capita income of $84,356 vs $54,423. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 70.8% in 49301 and 60.7% in 49546. Poverty rate reads 1.4% vs 8.2%, and unemployment 1.7% vs 2.6% — 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 $548,800 in 49301 versus $417,900 in 49546, with median rent of $2,027 and $1,408 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 94.1% vs 68.7%. 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.