ZIP 51041 vs ZIP 51003

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