ZIP 50238 vs ZIP 52569

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50238 (Russell, IA) and ZIP 52569 (Melrose, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50238 has a population of 1,182 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 52569 has 610 at 3 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 50238 reports a median household income of $59,625 against $51,477 in ZIP 52569, with per-capita income of $30,714 vs $51,639. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.5% in 50238 and 7.9% in 52569. Poverty rate reads 15.9% vs 8.5%, and unemployment 3.5% vs 9.6% — 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 $83,300 in 50238 versus $84,300 in 52569, with median rent of $700 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.6% vs 96.3%. 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.