ZIP 50131 vs ZIP 50322

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50131 (Johnston, IA) and ZIP 50322 (Urbandale, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50131 has a population of 17,499 at 314 people per square mile, while ZIP 50322 has 31,530 at 1,131 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 50131 reports a median household income of $106,551 against $92,085 in ZIP 50322, with per-capita income of $57,553 vs $46,565. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 57.7% in 50131 and 44.1% in 50322. Poverty rate reads 10.1% vs 9.6%, and unemployment 2.1% vs 4.0% — 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 $369,400 in 50131 versus $276,200 in 50322, with median rent of $1,338 and $1,186 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.1% vs 72.8%. 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.