ZIP 51201 vs ZIP 51346

This side-by-side compares ZIP 51201 (Sheldon, IA) and ZIP 51346 (Hartley, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 51201 has a population of 6,193 at 21 people per square mile, while ZIP 51346 has 2,451 at 7 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 51201 reports a median household income of $68,799 against $72,426 in ZIP 51346, with per-capita income of $34,229 vs $36,968. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.8% in 51201 and 21.9% in 51346. Poverty rate reads 14.5% vs 9.1%, and unemployment 0.5% vs 3.8% — 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 $197,800 in 51201 versus $156,800 in 51346, with median rent of $930 and $750 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.6% vs 82.7%. 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.