ZIP 51520 vs ZIP 51528

This side-by-side compares ZIP 51520 (Arion, IA) and ZIP 51528 (Dow City, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 51520 has a population of 233 at 5 people per square mile, while ZIP 51528 has 931 at 5 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 51520 reports a median household income of $60,843 against $63,173 in ZIP 51528, with per-capita income of $25,543 vs $37,426. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 3.2% in 51520 and 13.1% in 51528. Poverty rate reads 2.1% vs 14.5%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 0.5% — 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 $146,600 in 51520 versus $117,900 in 51528, with median rent of $592 and $742 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.8% vs 66.7%. 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.