ZIP 51534 vs ZIP 51561

This side-by-side compares ZIP 51534 (Glenwood, IA) and ZIP 51561 (Pacific Junction, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 51534 has a population of 9,236 at 36 people per square mile, while ZIP 51561 has 1,455 at 9 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 51534 reports a median household income of $93,646 against $113,421 in ZIP 51561, with per-capita income of $41,927 vs $48,419. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 32.8% in 51534 and 37.7% in 51561. Poverty rate reads 9.0% vs 3.9%, and unemployment 2.5% 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 $246,600 in 51534 versus $388,800 in 51561, with median rent of $901 and $1,103 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.4% vs 87.4%. 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.