ZIP 50237 vs ZIP 50118

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50237 (Runnells, IA) and ZIP 50118 (Hartford, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50237 has a population of 3,095 at 22 people per square mile, while ZIP 50118 has 1,027 at 21 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 50237 reports a median household income of $101,806 against $73,750 in ZIP 50118, with per-capita income of $46,643 vs $35,867. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 37.9% in 50237 and 17.5% in 50118. Poverty rate reads 1.0% vs 6.4%, and unemployment 3.8% vs 3.1% — 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 $346,900 in 50237 versus $179,800 in 50118, with median rent of $760 and $1,151 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.2% vs 93.4%. 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.