ZIP 51453 vs ZIP 50538

This side-by-side compares ZIP 51453 (Lohrville, IA) and ZIP 50538 (Farnhamville, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 51453 has a population of 695 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 50538 has 503 at 6 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 51453 reports a median household income of $86,563 against $62,344 in ZIP 50538, with per-capita income of $48,384 vs $31,167. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.2% in 51453 and 10.9% in 50538. Poverty rate reads 7.8% vs 15.4%, and unemployment 0.8% vs 0.6% — 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 $78,800 in 51453 versus $94,000 in 50538, with median rent of $944 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.0% vs 88.7%. 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.