ZIP 49319 vs ZIP 49343

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49319 (Cedar Springs, MI) and ZIP 49343 (Sand Lake, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49319 has a population of 16,181 at 72 people per square mile, while ZIP 49343 has 5,489 at 40 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 49319 reports a median household income of $78,951 against $80,408 in ZIP 49343, with per-capita income of $40,253 vs $38,105. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.5% in 49319 and 14.0% in 49343. Poverty rate reads 8.7% vs 8.3%, and unemployment 2.5% vs 3.2% — 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 $260,300 in 49319 versus $244,200 in 49343, with median rent of $1,080 and $880 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 90.5% vs 85.1%. 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.