ZIP 50601 vs ZIP 50672

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50601 (Ackley, IA) and ZIP 50672 (Steamboat Rock, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50601 has a population of 2,464 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 50672 has 594 at 6 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 50601 reports a median household income of $66,250 against $73,333 in ZIP 50672, with per-capita income of $33,424 vs $41,569. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.9% in 50601 and 19.2% in 50672. Poverty rate reads 10.2% vs 3.1%, and unemployment 1.7% vs 2.0% — 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 $127,200 in 50601 versus $158,500 in 50672, with median rent of $827 and $740 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.6% vs 76.8%. 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.