ZIP 50635 vs ZIP 50652

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50635 (Gladbrook, IA) and ZIP 50652 (Lincoln, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50635 has a population of 1,602 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 50652 has 128 at 211 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 50635 reports a median household income of $81,125 against $65,000 in ZIP 50652, with per-capita income of $39,910 vs $49,550. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 31.3% in 50635 and 11.6% in 50652. Poverty rate reads 10.7% vs 8.8%, and unemployment 0.5% 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 $154,700 in 50635 versus $97,800 in 50652, with median rent of $940 and $1,000 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.2% vs 86.2%. 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.