ZIP 50447 vs ZIP 50542

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50447 (Kanawha, IA) and ZIP 50542 (Goldfield, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50447 has a population of 1,081 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 50542 has 933 at 5 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 50447 reports a median household income of $76,019 against $55,000 in ZIP 50542, with per-capita income of $36,285 vs $39,161. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.6% in 50447 and 24.7% in 50542. Poverty rate reads 10.0% vs 9.8%, and unemployment 2.3% vs 0.0% — 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 $86,800 in 50447 versus $138,400 in 50542, with median rent of $584 and $607 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.0% vs 84.5%. 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.