ZIP 50022 vs ZIP 50274

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50022 (Atlantic, IA) and ZIP 50274 (Wiota, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50022 has a population of 8,494 at 20 people per square mile, while ZIP 50274 has 398 at 3 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 50022 reports a median household income of $63,125 against $71,667 in ZIP 50274, with per-capita income of $38,336 vs $37,143. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.9% in 50022 and 18.7% in 50274. Poverty rate reads 14.7% vs 8.5%, and unemployment 0.9% vs 7.7% — 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 $157,600 in 50022 versus $162,100 in 50274, with median rent of $773 and $1,125 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 66.3% vs 81.1%. 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.