ZIP 49507 vs ZIP 49503

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49507 (Grand Rapids, MI) and ZIP 49503 (Grand Rapids, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49507 has a population of 35,459 at 2,481 people per square mile, while ZIP 49503 has 35,940 at 1,933 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 49507 reports a median household income of $61,461 against $64,661 in ZIP 49503, with per-capita income of $28,890 vs $37,781. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 27.5% in 49507 and 44.8% in 49503. Poverty rate reads 22.6% vs 20.7%, and unemployment 6.5% vs 4.8% — 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 $199,300 in 49507 versus $241,900 in 49503, with median rent of $1,108 and $1,301 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 62.0% vs 36.2%. 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.