ZIP 50161 vs ZIP 50055

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50161 (Maxwell, IA) and ZIP 50055 (Collins, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50161 has a population of 2,047 at 10 people per square mile, while ZIP 50055 has 913 at 7 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 50161 reports a median household income of $98,519 against $85,278 in ZIP 50055, with per-capita income of $50,451 vs $47,108. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 31.8% in 50161 and 31.5% in 50055. Poverty rate reads 2.3% vs 4.9%, and unemployment 1.9% vs 3.0% — 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 $256,500 in 50161 versus $200,000 in 50055, with median rent of $1,063 and $823 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.4% vs 85.8%. 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.