ZIP 49630 vs ZIP 49636

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49630 (Empire, MI) and ZIP 49636 (Glen Arbor, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49630 has a population of 1,429 at 12 people per square mile, while ZIP 49636 has 560 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 49630 reports a median household income of $106,375 against $119,688 in ZIP 49636, with per-capita income of $71,775 vs $84,511. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 58.8% in 49630 and 68.1% in 49636. Poverty rate reads 8.3% vs 7.8%, and unemployment 2.2% vs 3.9% — 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 $497,600 in 49630 versus $741,900 in 49636, with median rent of $1,083 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.3% vs 94.2%. 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.