ZIP 49623 vs ZIP 49642

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49623 (Chase, MI) and ZIP 49642 (Idlewild, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49623 has a population of 1,164 at 8 people per square mile, while ZIP 49642 has 842 at 18 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 49623 reports a median household income of $60,147 against $26,950 in ZIP 49642, with per-capita income of $30,007 vs $21,211. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 11.1% in 49623 and 12.4% in 49642. Poverty rate reads 21.1% vs 37.6%, and unemployment 4.0% vs 1.6% — 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 $132,900 in 49623 versus $116,100 in 49642, with median rent of $725 and $763 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.9% vs 81.9%. 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.