ZIP 50211 vs ZIP 50321

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50211 (Norwalk, IA) and ZIP 50321 (Des Moines, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50211 has a population of 11,192 at 77 people per square mile, while ZIP 50321 has 7,846 at 258 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 50211 reports a median household income of $103,712 against $80,351 in ZIP 50321, with per-capita income of $48,548 vs $56,160. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 37.0% in 50211 and 42.4% in 50321. Poverty rate reads 5.2% vs 10.4%, and unemployment 3.6% vs 6.6% — 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 $316,100 in 50211 versus $320,500 in 50321, with median rent of $851 and $1,128 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.3% vs 59.8%. 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.