ZIP 50438 vs ZIP 50423

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50438 (Garner, IA) and ZIP 50423 (Britt, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50438 has a population of 4,159 at 12 people per square mile, while ZIP 50423 has 2,976 at 8 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 50438 reports a median household income of $70,350 against $73,151 in ZIP 50423, with per-capita income of $38,118 vs $45,134. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.2% in 50438 and 26.1% in 50423. Poverty rate reads 10.9% vs 9.4%, and unemployment 2.3% vs 2.5% — 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 $197,600 in 50438 versus $118,900 in 50423, with median rent of $744 and $773 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.4% vs 79.8%. 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.