ZIP 51234 vs ZIP 51239

This side-by-side compares ZIP 51234 (Boyden, IA) and ZIP 51239 (Hull, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 51234 has a population of 1,268 at 10 people per square mile, while ZIP 51239 has 3,123 at 18 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 51234 reports a median household income of $84,318 against $77,540 in ZIP 51239, with per-capita income of $34,801 vs $38,148. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.0% in 51234 and 20.6% in 51239. Poverty rate reads 9.8% vs 5.7%, and unemployment 0.3% vs 1.9% — 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 $211,800 in 51234 versus $236,500 in 51239, with median rent of $762 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 90.5% vs 84.0%. 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.