ZIP 51046 vs ZIP 51009

This side-by-side compares ZIP 51046 (Paullina, IA) and ZIP 51009 (Calumet, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 51046 has a population of 1,660 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 51009 has 164 at 268 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 51046 reports a median household income of $84,125 against $58,750 in ZIP 51009, with per-capita income of $45,310 vs $38,419. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.7% in 51046 and 21.1% in 51009. Poverty rate reads 6.2% vs 14.2%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 2.3% — 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 $160,300 in 51046 versus $83,300 in 51009, with median rent of $895 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.0% vs 96.0%. 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.