ZIP 50219 vs ZIP 50138

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50219 (Pella, IA) and ZIP 50138 (Knoxville, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50219 has a population of 13,939 at 46 people per square mile, while ZIP 50138 has 11,720 at 27 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 50219 reports a median household income of $86,807 against $74,693 in ZIP 50138, with per-capita income of $41,962 vs $41,015. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 44.0% in 50219 and 28.0% in 50138. Poverty rate reads 5.0% vs 10.5%, and unemployment 0.9% vs 3.6% — 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 $301,400 in 50219 versus $196,700 in 50138, with median rent of $1,026 and $815 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.4% vs 80.9%. 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.