ZIP 49304 vs ZIP 49642

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49304 (Baldwin, MI) and ZIP 49642 (Idlewild, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49304 has a population of 4,328 at 13 people per square mile, while ZIP 49642 has 842 at 18 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 49304 reports a median household income of $45,991 against $26,950 in ZIP 49642, with per-capita income of $24,620 vs $21,211. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 11.6% in 49304 and 12.4% in 49642. Poverty rate reads 23.6% vs 37.6%, and unemployment 9.0% vs 1.6% — 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 $116,000 in 49304 versus $116,100 in 49642, with median rent of $837 and $763 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 74.5% vs 81.9%. 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.