ZIP 49721 vs ZIP 49749

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49721 (Cheboygan, MI) and ZIP 49749 (Indian River, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49721 has a population of 14,436 at 22 people per square mile, while ZIP 49749 has 4,283 at 23 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 49721 reports a median household income of $61,174 against $65,608 in ZIP 49749, with per-capita income of $35,437 vs $47,873. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.2% in 49721 and 37.1% in 49749. Poverty rate reads 10.8% vs 11.7%, and unemployment 6.0% vs 4.3% — 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 $172,200 in 49721 versus $244,300 in 49749, with median rent of $732 and $950 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.4% vs 88.1%. 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.