ZIP 51237 vs ZIP 51244

This side-by-side compares ZIP 51237 (George, IA) and ZIP 51244 (Matlock, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 51237 has a population of 1,703 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 51244 has 79 at 101 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 51237 reports a median household income of $61,667 against $83,365 in ZIP 51244, with per-capita income of $34,014 vs $47,517. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.6% in 51237 and 20.0% in 51244. Poverty rate reads 6.9% vs 1.4%, and unemployment 1.6% 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 $159,500 in 51237 versus $95,000 in 51244, with median rent of $822 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.4% vs 96.6%. 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.