ZIP 49525 vs ZIP 49505

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49525 (Grand Rapids, MI) and ZIP 49505 (Grand Rapids, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49525 has a population of 27,383 at 449 people per square mile, while ZIP 49505 has 31,216 at 1,354 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 49525 reports a median household income of $94,037 against $74,906 in ZIP 49505, with per-capita income of $50,473 vs $37,544. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 51.3% in 49525 and 41.6% in 49505. Poverty rate reads 8.7% vs 15.3%, and unemployment 4.6% vs 4.2% — 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 $321,100 in 49525 versus $246,700 in 49505, with median rent of $1,369 and $1,324 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.5% vs 65.7%. 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.