ZIP 50155 vs ZIP 50149

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50155 (Macksburg, IA) and ZIP 50149 (Lorimor, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50155 has a population of 255 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 50149 has 964 at 5 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 50155 reports a median household income of $33,125 against $59,167 in ZIP 50149, with per-capita income of $34,539 vs $30,728. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 9.2% in 50155 and 22.0% in 50149. Poverty rate reads 6.4% vs 15.6%, and unemployment 13.0% vs 2.8% — 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 $95,000 in 50155 versus $136,200 in 50149, with median rent of $794 and $836 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.7% vs 82.4%. 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.