ZIP 50538 vs ZIP 51453

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50538 (Farnhamville, IA) and ZIP 51453 (Lohrville, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50538 has a population of 503 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 51453 has 695 at 3 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 50538 reports a median household income of $62,344 against $86,563 in ZIP 51453, with per-capita income of $31,167 vs $48,384. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 10.9% in 50538 and 26.2% in 51453. Poverty rate reads 15.4% vs 7.8%, and unemployment 0.6% vs 0.8% — 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 $94,000 in 50538 versus $78,800 in 51453, with median rent of — and $944 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.7% vs 69.0%. 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.