ZIP 50112 vs ZIP 50171

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50112 (Grinnell, IA) and ZIP 50171 (Montezuma, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50112 has a population of 11,536 at 24 people per square mile, while ZIP 50171 has 2,923 at 10 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 50112 reports a median household income of $67,078 against $65,000 in ZIP 50171, with per-capita income of $37,893 vs $40,392. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 35.0% in 50112 and 17.5% in 50171. Poverty rate reads 9.1% vs 7.6%, and unemployment 4.0% vs 3.9% — 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 $214,900 in 50112 versus $216,000 in 50171, with median rent of $894 and $828 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 68.7% vs 71.1%. 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.