ZIP 50069 vs ZIP 50003

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50069 (De Soto, IA) and ZIP 50003 (Adel, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50069 has a population of 1,118 at 85 people per square mile, while ZIP 50003 has 6,594 at 22 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 50069 reports a median household income of $98,056 against $103,114 in ZIP 50003, with per-capita income of $38,455 vs $53,573. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 30.1% in 50069 and 43.3% in 50003. Poverty rate reads 6.9% vs 4.8%, and unemployment 3.0% vs 2.4% — 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 $232,100 in 50069 versus $395,400 in 50003, with median rent of $1,089 and $933 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.6% vs 75.8%. 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.