ZIP 49638 vs ZIP 49618

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49638 (Harrietta, MI) and ZIP 49618 (Boon, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49638 has a population of 824 at 5 people per square mile, while ZIP 49618 has 761 at 10 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 49638 reports a median household income of $45,625 against $53,654 in ZIP 49618, with per-capita income of $27,589 vs $28,642. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.8% in 49638 and 15.3% in 49618. Poverty rate reads 26.2% vs 21.4%, and unemployment 11.6% vs 0.4% — 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 $142,900 in 49638 versus $198,600 in 49618, with median rent of $1,026 and $1,458 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.4% vs 86.3%. 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.