ZIP 51056 vs ZIP 51051

This side-by-side compares ZIP 51056 (Smithland, IA) and ZIP 51051 (Rodney, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 51056 has a population of 478 at 5 people per square mile, while ZIP 51051 has 90 at 10 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 51056 reports a median household income of $103,313 against $51,563 in ZIP 51051, with per-capita income of $49,630 vs $30,026. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.2% in 51056 and 13.8% in 51051. Poverty rate reads 12.4% vs 10.3%, and unemployment 0.9% vs 16.7% — 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 $157,400 in 51056 versus $170,800 in 51051, with median rent of $658 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 92.5% vs 85.7%. 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.