ZIP 50078 vs ZIP 50106

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50078 (Ferguson, IA) and ZIP 50106 (Gilman, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50078 has a population of 126 at 191 people per square mile, while ZIP 50106 has 1,039 at 6 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 50078 reports a median household income of $52,500 against $101,193 in ZIP 50106, with per-capita income of $26,081 vs $49,447. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.8% in 50078 and 21.1% in 50106. Poverty rate reads 11.0% vs 4.7%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 3.7% — 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 $75,600 in 50078 versus $118,900 in 50106, with median rent of $1,125 and $678 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.5% vs 92.2%. 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.