ZIP 49343 vs ZIP 49319

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