ZIP 51638 vs ZIP 51601

This side-by-side compares ZIP 51638 (Essex, IA) and ZIP 51601 (Shenandoah, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 51638 has a population of 1,299 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 51601 has 6,025 at 22 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 51638 reports a median household income of $59,107 against $62,143 in ZIP 51601, with per-capita income of $36,660 vs $34,465. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.9% in 51638 and 19.4% in 51601. Poverty rate reads 12.0% vs 19.1%, and unemployment 1.4% vs 6.0% — 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 $120,700 in 51638 versus $124,200 in 51601, with median rent of $606 and $780 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.9% vs 60.0%. 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.