ZIP 49455 vs ZIP 49446

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49455 (Shelby, MI) and ZIP 49446 (New Era, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49455 has a population of 5,034 at 23 people per square mile, while ZIP 49446 has 2,321 at 28 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 49455 reports a median household income of $63,621 against $65,217 in ZIP 49446, with per-capita income of $32,684 vs $31,721. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.9% in 49455 and 23.7% in 49446. Poverty rate reads 14.1% vs 15.8%, and unemployment 5.2% vs 4.7% — 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 $177,900 in 49455 versus $209,100 in 49446, with median rent of $694 and $744 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.6% vs 86.8%. 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.