ZIP 49639 vs ZIP 49677

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49639 (Hersey, MI) and ZIP 49677 (Reed City, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49639 has a population of 2,557 at 16 people per square mile, while ZIP 49677 has 6,631 at 19 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 49639 reports a median household income of $64,388 against $59,112 in ZIP 49677, with per-capita income of $34,145 vs $31,200. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.0% in 49639 and 18.0% in 49677. Poverty rate reads 12.2% vs 14.1%, and unemployment 3.3% vs 7.2% - 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 $153,100 in 49639 versus $142,000 in 49677, with median rent of $792 and $785 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 90.7% vs 78.5%. 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.