ZIP 49861 vs ZIP 49946

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49861 (Michigamme, MI) and ZIP 49946 (Lanse, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49861 has a population of 616 at 1 people per square mile, while ZIP 49946 has 4,040 at 6 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 49861 reports a median household income of $61,875 against $55,341 in ZIP 49946, with per-capita income of $37,580 vs $33,702. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 29.6% in 49861 and 17.5% in 49946. Poverty rate reads 16.0% vs 15.6%, and unemployment 8.2% vs 6.5% — 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 $226,600 in 49861 versus $130,900 in 49946, with median rent of — and $663 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 97.7% vs 79.1%. 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.