ZIP 51061 vs ZIP 51049

This side-by-side compares ZIP 51061 (Washta, IA) and ZIP 51049 (Quimby, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 51061 has a population of 510 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 51049 has 506 at 5 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 51061 reports a median household income of $49,375 against $57,120 in ZIP 51049, with per-capita income of $36,378 vs $35,590. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.2% in 51061 and 14.7% in 51049. Poverty rate reads 19.3% vs 8.7%, and unemployment 11.9% 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 $77,500 in 51061 versus $106,100 in 51049, with median rent of $431 and $643 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.7% vs 83.0%. 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.