ZIP 49316 vs ZIP 49512

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49316 (Caledonia, MI) and ZIP 49512 (Grand Rapids, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49316 has a population of 20,074 at 136 people per square mile, while ZIP 49512 has 15,448 at 264 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 49316 reports a median household income of $103,238 against $71,329 in ZIP 49512, with per-capita income of $47,816 vs $42,915. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 48.3% in 49316 and 39.7% in 49512. Poverty rate reads 4.6% vs 6.2%, and unemployment 2.5% vs 4.3% — 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 $364,200 in 49316 versus $314,900 in 49512, with median rent of $1,338 and $1,249 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.9% vs 43.0%. 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.