ZIP 49730 vs ZIP 49611

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49730 (Elmira, MI) and ZIP 49611 (Alba, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49730 has a population of 2,187 at 9 people per square mile, while ZIP 49611 has 236 at 58 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 49730 reports a median household income of $79,679 against $101,304 in ZIP 49611, with per-capita income of $39,433 vs $27,221. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.1% in 49730 and 15.3% in 49611. Poverty rate reads 7.5% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 3.1% vs 0.0% — 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 $207,200 in 49730 versus — in 49611, with median rent of $967 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 94.1% vs 90.5%. 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.