ZIP 50636 vs ZIP 50653

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50636 (Greene, IA) and ZIP 50653 (Marble Rock, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50636 has a population of 1,982 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 50653 has 639 at 5 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 50636 reports a median household income of $70,066 against $79,250 in ZIP 50653, with per-capita income of $36,974 vs $37,045. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.3% in 50636 and 23.8% in 50653. Poverty rate reads 11.7% vs 2.5%, and unemployment 2.7% vs 2.9% — 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 50636 versus $163,300 in 50653, with median rent of $1,054 and $822 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.8% vs 85.1%. 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.