ZIP 52038 vs ZIP 50650

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52038 (Dundee, IA) and ZIP 50650 (Lamont, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52038 has a population of 491 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 50650 has 737 at 7 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 52038 reports a median household income of $56,250 against $57,500 in ZIP 50650, with per-capita income of $30,749 vs $33,895. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.1% in 52038 and 16.6% in 50650. Poverty rate reads 4.8% vs 10.3%, and unemployment 6.4% vs 2.4% — 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 $165,000 in 52038 versus $120,500 in 50650, with median rent of $932 and $1,054 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.3% vs 73.4%. 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.