ZIP 50520 vs ZIP 50582

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50520 (Bradgate, IA) and ZIP 50582 (Rutland, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50520 has a population of 144 at 2 people per square mile, while ZIP 50582 has 234 at 4 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 50520 reports a median household income of $73,750 against $87,125 in ZIP 50582, with per-capita income of $77,178 vs $64,421. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 7.8% in 50520 and 4.9% in 50582. Poverty rate reads 12.3% vs 0.6%, and unemployment 1.5% 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 $44,300 in 50520 versus — in 50582, with median rent of — and $775 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 98.1% vs 93.3%. 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.