ZIP 49812 vs ZIP 49863

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49812 (Carney, MI) and ZIP 49863 (Nadeau, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49812 has a population of 925 at 5 people per square mile, while ZIP 49863 has 130 at 92 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 49812 reports a median household income of $51,250 against $32,961 in ZIP 49863, with per-capita income of $30,752 vs $21,091. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.6% in 49812 and 7.5% in 49863. Poverty rate reads 19.7% vs 15.4%, and unemployment 9.9% 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 $166,200 in 49812 versus $67,600 in 49863, with median rent of $900 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.8% vs 94.0%. 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.