ZIP 50314 vs ZIP 50309

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50314 (Des Moines, IA) and ZIP 50309 (Des Moines, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50314 has a population of 12,465 at 1,939 people per square mile, while ZIP 50309 has 5,431 at 744 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 50314 reports a median household income of $39,950 against $56,777 in ZIP 50309, with per-capita income of $26,210 vs $57,597. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.6% in 50314 and 61.5% in 50309. Poverty rate reads 40.5% vs 18.6%, and unemployment 8.0% vs 4.4% — 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 $147,900 in 50314 versus $292,500 in 50309, with median rent of $950 and $1,223 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 47.7% vs 10.6%. 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.