ZIP 50582 vs ZIP 50520

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50582 (Rutland, IA) and ZIP 50520 (Bradgate, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50582 has a population of 234 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 50520 has 144 at 2 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 50582 reports a median household income of $87,125 against $73,750 in ZIP 50520, with per-capita income of $64,421 vs $77,178. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 4.9% in 50582 and 7.8% in 50520. Poverty rate reads 0.6% vs 12.3%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 1.5% — 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 — in 50582 versus $44,300 in 50520, with median rent of $775 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 93.3% vs 98.1%. 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.