ZIP 49310 vs ZIP 48829

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49310 (Blanchard, MI) and ZIP 48829 (Edmore, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49310 has a population of 3,016 at 13 people per square mile, while ZIP 48829 has 3,254 at 19 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 49310 reports a median household income of $64,420 against $63,750 in ZIP 48829, with per-capita income of $24,515 vs $26,333. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.6% in 49310 and 11.8% in 48829. Poverty rate reads 21.7% vs 18.9%, and unemployment 6.8% vs 6.2% — 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 $177,700 in 49310 versus $151,900 in 48829, with median rent of $1,047 and $735 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.6% 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.