ZIP 50652 vs ZIP 50635

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50652 (Lincoln, IA) and ZIP 50635 (Gladbrook, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50652 has a population of 128 at 211 people per square mile, while ZIP 50635 has 1,602 at 7 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 50652 reports a median household income of $65,000 against $81,125 in ZIP 50635, with per-capita income of $49,550 vs $39,910. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 11.6% in 50652 and 31.3% in 50635. Poverty rate reads 8.8% vs 10.7%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 0.5% — 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 $97,800 in 50652 versus $154,700 in 50635, with median rent of $1,000 and $940 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.2% vs 80.2%. 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.