ZIP 51533 vs ZIP 51540

This side-by-side compares ZIP 51533 (Emerson, IA) and ZIP 51540 (Hastings, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 51533 has a population of 895 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 51540 has 449 at 3 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 51533 reports a median household income of $68,750 against $84,375 in ZIP 51540, with per-capita income of $35,140 vs $41,008. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.1% in 51533 and 17.4% in 51540. Poverty rate reads 10.2% vs 8.6%, and unemployment 2.9% vs 1.4% — 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 $136,500 in 51533 versus $217,700 in 51540, with median rent of $1,034 and $1,309 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.0% vs 78.0%. 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.