ZIP 50139 vs ZIP 50166

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50139 (Lacona, IA) and ZIP 50166 (Milo, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50139 has a population of 1,288 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 50166 has 1,582 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 50139 reports a median household income of $72,400 against $107,279 in ZIP 50166, with per-capita income of $38,675 vs $43,691. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.9% in 50139 and 17.6% in 50166. Poverty rate reads 11.2% vs 2.0%, and unemployment 3.7% vs 1.4% — 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 $151,600 in 50139 versus $252,900 in 50166, with median rent of $1,049 and $775 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.7% vs 92.8%. 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.