ZIP 50208 vs ZIP 50054

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50208 (Newton, IA) and ZIP 50054 (Colfax, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50208 has a population of 20,417 at 48 people per square mile, while ZIP 50054 has 3,356 at 22 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 50208 reports a median household income of $62,306 against $89,940 in ZIP 50054, with per-capita income of $35,815 vs $38,852. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.9% in 50208 and 22.6% in 50054. Poverty rate reads 10.0% vs 10.6%, and unemployment 6.1% vs 4.3% — 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 $168,900 in 50208 versus $211,500 in 50054, with median rent of $833 and $833 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 65.5% vs 75.9%. 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.