ZIP 49629 vs ZIP 49648

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49629 (Elk Rapids, MI) and ZIP 49648 (Kewadin, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49629 has a population of 2,223 at 214 people per square mile, while ZIP 49648 has 2,098 at 30 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 49629 reports a median household income of $65,302 against $93,272 in ZIP 49648, with per-capita income of $48,559 vs $55,609. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 46.2% in 49629 and 51.0% in 49648. Poverty rate reads 4.0% vs 9.6%, and unemployment 1.1% vs 1.0% — 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 $394,600 in 49629 versus $633,500 in 49648, with median rent of $929 and $1,300 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.9% vs 85.6%. 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.