ZIP 50021 vs ZIP 50023

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50021 (Ankeny, IA) and ZIP 50023 (Ankeny, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50021 has a population of 21,595 at 324 people per square mile, while ZIP 50023 has 27,986 at 488 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 50021 reports a median household income of $99,572 against $117,826 in ZIP 50023, with per-capita income of $53,356 vs $49,500. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 49.1% in 50021 and 53.4% in 50023. Poverty rate reads 3.9% vs 4.1%, and unemployment 2.2% vs 1.9% — 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 $317,200 in 50021 versus $345,100 in 50023, with median rent of $1,393 and $1,240 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 74.5% vs 71.5%. 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.