ZIP 51230 vs ZIP 51242

This side-by-side compares ZIP 51230 (Alvord, IA) and ZIP 51242 (Lester, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 51230 has a population of 462 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 51242 has 212 at 180 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 51230 reports a median household income of $75,625 against $95,625 in ZIP 51242, with per-capita income of $30,405 vs $39,556. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.6% in 51230 and 20.5% in 51242. Poverty rate reads 0.0% vs 1.3%, and unemployment 0.8% 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 $190,800 in 51230 versus $190,900 in 51242, with median rent of — and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 98.9% vs 86.6%. 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.