ZIP 50529 vs ZIP 50548

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50529 (Dakota City, IA) and ZIP 50548 (Humboldt, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50529 has a population of 837 at 596 people per square mile, while ZIP 50548 has 5,869 at 18 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 50529 reports a median household income of $60,417 against $76,214 in ZIP 50548, with per-capita income of $35,508 vs $43,040. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 7.6% in 50529 and 25.6% in 50548. Poverty rate reads 6.3% vs 14.1%, and unemployment 9.1% vs 6.6% — 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 $119,800 in 50529 versus $188,200 in 50548, with median rent of $965 and $741 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.4% vs 72.4%. 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.