ZIP 49329 vs ZIP 49339

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49329 (Howard City, MI) and ZIP 49339 (Pierson, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49329 has a population of 8,641 at 41 people per square mile, while ZIP 49339 has 2,283 at 30 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 49329 reports a median household income of $74,235 against $86,611 in ZIP 49339, with per-capita income of $37,110 vs $37,689. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.5% in 49329 and 29.0% in 49339. Poverty rate reads 7.8% vs 4.7%, and unemployment 3.7% vs 0.1% — 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 $207,900 in 49329 versus $241,100 in 49339, with median rent of $832 and $750 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 90.8% vs 95.2%. 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.