ZIP 50236 vs ZIP 50154

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50236 (Roland, IA) and ZIP 50154 (Mc Callsburg, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50236 has a population of 1,550 at 17 people per square mile, while ZIP 50154 has 466 at 9 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 50236 reports a median household income of $85,046 against $69,219 in ZIP 50154, with per-capita income of $45,221 vs $40,685. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 27.2% in 50236 and 13.9% in 50154. Poverty rate reads 1.1% vs 7.1%, and unemployment 0.8% vs 12.8% — 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 $198,900 in 50236 versus $187,500 in 50154, with median rent of $1,105 and $676 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.8% vs 74.3%. 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.