ZIP 50862 vs ZIP 50848

This side-by-side compares ZIP 50862 (Sharpsburg, IA) and ZIP 50848 (Gravity, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 50862 has a population of 148 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 50848 has 378 at 3 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 50862 reports a median household income of $61,953 against $68,250 in ZIP 50848, with per-capita income of $39,180 vs $38,018. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 7.1% in 50862 and 15.2% in 50848. Poverty rate reads 3.3% vs 15.2%, and unemployment 4.9% 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 $108,800 in 50862 versus $158,800 in 50848, with median rent of — and $775 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 96.5% vs 79.0%. 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.