ZIP 51003 vs ZIP 51041

This side-by-side compares ZIP 51003 (Alton, IA) and ZIP 51041 (Orange City, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 51003 has a population of 1,700 at 12 people per square mile, while ZIP 51041 has 6,976 at 38 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 51003 reports a median household income of $101,250 against $83,643 in ZIP 51041, with per-capita income of $44,417 vs $35,441. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 29.2% in 51003 and 42.9% in 51041. Poverty rate reads 2.0% vs 10.0%, and unemployment 2.0% vs 2.4% — 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 $232,700 in 51003 versus $277,000 in 51041, with median rent of $813 and $786 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.1% vs 68.4%. 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.