ZIP 50055 vs ZIP 50234

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50055 (Collins, IA) and ZIP 50234 (Rhodes, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50055 has a population of 913 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 50234 has 613 at 8 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 50055 reports a median household income of $85,278 against $78,750 in ZIP 50234, with per-capita income of $47,108 vs $51,126. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 31.5% in 50055 and 25.3% in 50234. Poverty rate reads 4.9% vs 5.5%, and unemployment 3.0% 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 $200,000 in 50055 versus $195,800 in 50234, with median rent of $823 and $491 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.8% vs 84.5%. 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.