ZIP 49688 vs ZIP 49655

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49688 (Tustin, MI) and ZIP 49655 (Leroy, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49688 has a population of 2,703 at 11 people per square mile, while ZIP 49655 has 3,173 at 14 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 49688 reports a median household income of $63,875 against $65,556 in ZIP 49655, with per-capita income of $29,542 vs $32,489. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.7% in 49688 and 16.2% in 49655. Poverty rate reads 16.6% vs 11.9%, and unemployment 2.8% vs 10.0% — 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 $188,500 in 49688 versus $180,300 in 49655, with median rent of $1,091 and $917 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.9% vs 95.7%. 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.