ZIP 49345 vs ZIP 49321

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49345 (Sparta, MI) and ZIP 49321 (Comstock Park, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49345 has a population of 13,040 at 95 people per square mile, while ZIP 49321 has 16,241 at 243 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 49345 reports a median household income of $85,463 against $77,870 in ZIP 49321, with per-capita income of $42,142 vs $38,602. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 29.2% in 49345 and 30.3% in 49321. Poverty rate reads 8.4% vs 8.7%, and unemployment 6.9% vs 5.1% — 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 $274,200 in 49345 versus $274,400 in 49321, with median rent of $986 and $1,191 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.1% vs 63.6%. 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.