ZIP 51549 vs ZIP 51541

This side-by-side compares ZIP 51549 (Macedonia, IA) and ZIP 51541 (Henderson, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 51549 has a population of 465 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 51541 has 363 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 51549 reports a median household income of $72,500 against $91,875 in ZIP 51541, with per-capita income of $37,612 vs $46,757. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.9% in 51549 and 36.8% in 51541. Poverty rate reads 14.3% vs 13.2%, and unemployment 3.2% 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 $161,900 in 51549 versus $163,600 in 51541, with median rent of $1,029 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 73.1% vs 97.0%. 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.