ZIP 50049 vs ZIP 50272

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50049 (Chariton, IA) and ZIP 50272 (Williamson, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50049 has a population of 6,493 at 13 people per square mile, while ZIP 50272 has 152 at 79 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 50049 reports a median household income of $61,190 against $45,000 in ZIP 50272, with per-capita income of $31,580 vs $19,412. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.1% in 50049 and 0.0% in 50272. Poverty rate reads 14.5% vs 35.8%, and unemployment 6.5% vs 8.5% — 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 $124,900 in 50049 versus — in 50272, with median rent of $704 and $631 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 74.5% vs 78.2%. 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.