ZIP 49894 vs ZIP 49829

This side-by-side compares ZIP 49894 (Wells, MI) and ZIP 49829 (Escanaba, MI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 49894 has a population of 680 at 314 people per square mile, while ZIP 49829 has 17,347 at 103 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 49894 reports a median household income of $93,828 against $50,277 in ZIP 49829, with per-capita income of $46,337 vs $32,314. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 5.8% in 49894 and 20.1% in 49829. Poverty rate reads 11.7% vs 15.9%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 5.2% — 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 $145,700 in 49894 versus $146,300 in 49829, with median rent of — and $661 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 100.0% vs 70.9%. 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.