49203 — Jackson, Michigan
Area Profile
Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 49203. Its median home value runs 54% above Jackson as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 14 sourcesEmployment conditions sit below most comparable ZIP areas measured: unemployment is 9.7% and the Opportunity signal places 49203 in the bottom 1%. The unemployment rate is published for Jackson, MI, which contains 49203, rather than for 49203 alone.
In the public schools here, 28% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.6 students for every teacher.
Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 181 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 110% on the prior year. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Jackson, MI, which contains 49203, rather than for 49203 alone.
These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment across Jackson, MI, which contains 49203, is 9.7% — higher than in all but 1% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.
Employment across Jackson, MI, which contains 49203, fell 5.7% over the past year, to 12,387 employed residents.
Median household income of $56,201 is lower than in 77% of measured US ZIP areas.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsJackson County, MI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $57,473 | 27th percentileof 2,996 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftJackson County, MI’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $56,256 | 22nd percentileof 2,996 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$3,7462024 ACS 5-Year | $56,201 | Bottom 23%of 31,049 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$1,7362024 ACS 5-Year | $32,080 | Bottom 34%of 32,822 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 14.1% | Bottom 33%of 32,846 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±1.0 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 19.7 min | Top 12%of 32,887 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 22.4% | Bottom 47%of 33,193 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 78.3% | 59th percentileof 32,798 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentJackson, MI’s figureJuly 2026 | 12,387 | Bottom 5%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)Jackson, MI’s figureJuly 2026 | −8.2% | Bottom 1%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)Jackson, MI’s figureJuly 2026 | −5.7% | Bottom 2%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceJackson, MI’s figureJuly 2026 | 13,720 | 6th percentileof 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 74.1% | Bottom 35%of 32,883 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wageJackson, MI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $61,270 | Bottom 30%of 2,760 | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wageJackson, MI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $47,760 | Bottom 29%of 2,760 | 2025 OEWS |
| Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.5% | 72nd percentileof 32,798 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)Jackson, MI’s figureJuly 2026 | −1.3% | Top 5%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateJackson, MI’s figureJuly 2026 | 9.7% | Bottom 1%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 9.2% | 47th percentileof 32,798 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — Jackson, MI
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 1,700 | $34,180 |
| Cashiers | 1,690 | $29,370 |
| Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators | 1,630 | $40,700 |
| Retail Salespersons | 1,210 | $34,770 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 1,140 | $27,390 |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | 1,000 | $34,560 |
Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.
Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Jackson, MI, the city containing this ZIP code.
28% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 35% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 15.6 students for every full-time teacher across 9 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middle School at Parkside | Jackson Public Schools | 750 | 15.0 | 17% | 31% |
| Cascades Elementary School | Jackson Public Schools | 398 | 14.2 | — | — |
| Sharp Park Academy | Jackson Public Schools | 337 | 17.7 | 47% | 47% |
| Townsend Elementary School | Vandercook Lake Public Schools | 316 | 18.6 | 27% | 26% |
| Dibble Elementary School | Jackson Public Schools | 282 | 17.6 | 37% | 42% |
| Vandercook Lake High School | Vandercook Lake Public Schools | 258 | 13.6 | 14% | 27% |
| Jackson ISD Local Based Special Education Programs | Jackson ISD | 240 | 3.0 | 42% | 47% |
| John R Lewis Elementary | Jackson Public Schools | 140 | 14.0 | — | — |
| Woodville Community Center | Western School District | 97 | 19.4 | — | — |
| Fourth Street Learning Center | Jackson Public Schools | 27 | 9.0 | 5% | 5% |
| Local Based Special Education Early Childhood Programs | Jackson ISD | 0 | — | — | — |
77.3% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.
Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Michigan’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Prices for everything a household buys run about 7% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 92.8, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Jackson, MI Metro Area is up 46% over five years, and up 6.1% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.
Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,130 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.34% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,165, some 14% above the $1,019 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,165 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $46,600 a year, about 83% of the median household income here of $56,201.
The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,019 a month.
A median home at $159,100 costs 2.4 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $66,663, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.
Prices here run about 7% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.
Published for the Jackson, MI Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.
The figures above are measured against 49203’s median household income of $56,201, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living indexthe Jackson, MI Metro Area’s figure2023 | 92.8 | Top 24%of 2,737 | 2023 |
| Home price change (1 year)the Jackson, MI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +6.1% | 91st percentileof 3,071 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the Jackson, MI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +46.2% | 65th percentileof 3,071 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the Jackson, MI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +108.0% | 69th percentileof 3,071 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year | 2.4 | Top 37%of 29,275 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 66.9% | 24th percentileof 32,750 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±5812024 ACS 5-Year | 17,139 | 94th percentileof 33,460 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $946 | Top 23%of 3,031 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $1,534 | Top 25%of 3,031 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,165 | Top 23%of 3,031 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$472024 ACS 5-Year | $1,019 | Bottom 49%of 26,396 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$6,3912024 ACS 5-Year | $159,100 | 30th percentileof 30,812 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$1152024 ACS 5-Year | $2,130 | 54th percentileof 28,935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$3,1982024 ACS 5-Year | $66,663 | Bottom 26%of 29,802 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.09%2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.34% | 76th percentileof 24,099 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 29.2% | Bottom 45%of 26,247 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±752024 ACS 5-Year | 116 | 78th percentileof 33,772 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.7% | 44th percentileof 32,961 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 8.1% | 57th percentileof 32,788 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±3432024 ACS 5-Year | 1,505 | 94th percentileof 33,772 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
At 5.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Jackson, MI, which contains 49203, rather than for 49203 alone.
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Washtenaw County, MI 476 people · 9.8% of arrivals
- Ingham County, MI 449 people · 9.3% of arrivals
- Wayne County, MI 379 people · 7.8% of arrivals
- Calhoun County, MI 350 people · 7.2% of arrivals
- Lenawee County, MI 331 people · 6.8% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Ingham County, MI 488 people · 10.0% of departures
- Washtenaw County, MI 419 people · 8.6% of departures
- Calhoun County, MI 366 people · 7.5% of departures
- Lenawee County, MI 302 people · 6.2% of departures
- Hillsdale County, MI 276 people · 5.7% of departures
Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Jackson County, MI. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Jackson, MI, the city containing this ZIP code.
Weather & climate
5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 83°F and January a low of 18°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 32.2 inches.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 32.2" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 18°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 83°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 5 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 47°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 48% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.
Overall hazard risk is lower than 90% of measured US ZIP areas.
Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, ice storm, inland flooding, winter weather, earthquake, landslide, lightning, hurricane, wildfire, drought, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding, avalanche.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.
Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.
Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around 49203 (Jackson County) rather than 49203 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.
What this profile does not cover
Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.
- Reported crime
- Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Jackson carries the figure where its department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
- Air quality
- The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
- Taxes
- Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Capital Region Intl at 40 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 93.5% | Top 28%of 32,663 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 40 mi | Bottom 21%of 3,127 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 6 | Top 26%of 3,127 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 5.1% | Top 33%of 32,663 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region Intl | LAN | 40 mi | 8,506 ft |
| Battle Creek Exec At Kellogg Fld | BTL | 44 mi | 10,004 ft |
| Eugene F Kranz Toledo Express | TOL | 53 mi | 10,600 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
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Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyData & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Housing | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Safety | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics Provisional county-level mortality by intent | March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA National Weather Service National Weather Service current conditions | Live observation, read when the page opens |
Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.
49203 vs Jackson
How this ZIP area compares with Jackson as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.
Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.