ZIP 49872 vs ZIP 49837

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49872 (Perkins, MI) and ZIP 49837 (Gladstone, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49872 has a population of 206 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 49837 has 9,795 at 55 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 49872 reports a median household income of $53,281 against $64,306 in ZIP 49837, with per-capita income of $25,916 vs $43,588. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 4.2% in 49872 and 23.5% in 49837. Poverty rate reads 5.6% vs 10.0%, and unemployment 5.9% vs 3.5% — 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 $166,900 in 49872 versus $157,400 in 49837, with median rent of — and $887 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 95.6% vs 89.3%. 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.