ZIP 49946 vs ZIP 49861

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