ZIP 49855 vs ZIP 49849

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49855 (Marquette, MI) and ZIP 49849 (Ishpeming, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49855 has a population of 33,561 at 65 people per square mile, while ZIP 49849 has 12,242 at 17 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 49855 reports a median household income of $62,083 against $67,518 in ZIP 49849, with per-capita income of $36,434 vs $34,073. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 45.7% in 49855 and 28.1% in 49849. Poverty rate reads 16.9% vs 12.8%, and unemployment 4.0% vs 5.8% — 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 $263,300 in 49855 versus $152,100 in 49849, with median rent of $1,037 and $770 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 58.7% vs 80.8%. 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.