ZIP 52032 vs ZIP 52079

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52032 (Bernard, IA) and ZIP 52079 (Zwingle, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52032 has a population of 1,456 at 5 people per square mile, while ZIP 52079 has 782 at 5 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 52032 reports a median household income of $88,500 against $101,120 in ZIP 52079, with per-capita income of $40,000 vs $75,837. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 9.7% in 52032 and 18.3% in 52079. Poverty rate reads 4.3% vs 9.7%, and unemployment 3.7% 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 $269,000 in 52032 versus $237,800 in 52079, with median rent of $415 and $950 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 94.1% vs 97.2%. 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.