ZIP 50540 vs ZIP 50593

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50540 (Fonda, IA) and ZIP 50593 (Varina, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50540 has a population of 1,022 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 50593 has 64 at 133 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 50540 reports a median household income of $73,438 against $50,625 in ZIP 50593, with per-capita income of $31,845 vs $38,831. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.1% in 50540 and 4.0% in 50593. Poverty rate reads 6.3% vs 3.4%, and unemployment 3.5% 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 $109,800 in 50540 versus $55,000 in 50593, with median rent of $547 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 72.9% vs 100.0%. 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.