ZIP 49816 vs ZIP 49825

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49816 (Chatham, MI) and ZIP 49825 (Eben Junction, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49816 has a population of 724 at 5 people per square mile, while ZIP 49825 has 299 at 5 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 49816 reports a median household income of $70,750 against $77,250 in ZIP 49825, with per-capita income of $37,633 vs $38,001. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.4% in 49816 and 30.0% in 49825. Poverty rate reads 6.5% vs 10.5%, and unemployment 1.6% vs 6.0% - 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 $170,700 in 49816 versus $213,900 in 49825, with median rent of $713 and - per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 96.8% vs 100.0%. 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.