ZIP 51577 vs ZIP 51552

This side-by-side compares ZIP 51577 (Walnut, IA) and ZIP 51552 (Marne, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 51577 has a population of 1,184 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 51552 has 301 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 51577 reports a median household income of $71,518 against $90,000 in ZIP 51552, with per-capita income of $31,949 vs $37,859. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.8% in 51577 and 11.0% in 51552. Poverty rate reads 10.1% vs 3.0%, and unemployment 6.5% vs 1.6% — 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 $134,100 in 51577 versus $125,000 in 51552, with median rent of $874 and $723 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.3% vs 61.9%. 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.