ZIP 49428 vs ZIP 49534

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49428 (Jenison, MI) and ZIP 49534 (Grand Rapids, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49428 has a population of 25,420 at 595 people per square mile, while ZIP 49534 has 21,570 at 238 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 49428 reports a median household income of $100,225 against $81,657 in ZIP 49534, with per-capita income of $39,761 vs $44,283. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 41.0% in 49428 and 35.7% in 49534. Poverty rate reads 3.9% vs 7.5%, and unemployment 2.1% vs 2.8% — 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 $307,500 in 49428 versus $306,700 in 49534, with median rent of $1,729 and $1,280 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.3% vs 70.1%. 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.