ZIP 50042 vs ZIP 50076

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50042 (Brayton, IA) and ZIP 50076 (Exira, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50042 has a population of 309 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 50076 has 1,502 at 5 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 50042 reports a median household income of $92,500 against $55,313 in ZIP 50076, with per-capita income of $42,381 vs $35,080. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.7% in 50042 and 16.3% in 50076. Poverty rate reads 16.8% vs 13.1%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 1.2% — 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 $160,900 in 50042 versus $114,100 in 50076, with median rent of $735 and $779 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.9% vs 88.3%. 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.