ZIP 50034 vs ZIP 50271

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50034 (Blairsburg, IA) and ZIP 50271 (Williams, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50034 has a population of 490 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 50271 has 628 at 4 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 50034 reports a median household income of $76,250 against $82,656 in ZIP 50271, with per-capita income of $37,590 vs $61,188. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.8% in 50034 and 18.6% in 50271. Poverty rate reads 5.8% vs 6.0%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 1.8% — 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 $109,600 in 50034 versus $113,100 in 50271, with median rent of — and $704 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.5% vs 81.3%. 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.