ZIP 50469 vs ZIP 50477

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50469 (Rockwell, IA) and ZIP 50477 (Swaledale, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50469 has a population of 1,574 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 50477 has 347 at 6 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 50469 reports a median household income of $71,250 against $52,321 in ZIP 50477, with per-capita income of $35,869 vs $27,332. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.5% in 50469 and 10.6% in 50477. Poverty rate reads 11.1% vs 26.4%, and unemployment 1.0% vs 7.2% — 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 $211,700 in 50469 versus $83,000 in 50477, with median rent of $575 and $752 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.8% vs 74.1%. 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.