ZIP 52049 vs ZIP 52157

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52049 (Garnavillo, IA) and ZIP 52157 (Mc Gregor, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52049 has a population of 1,270 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 52157 has 1,828 at 13 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 52049 reports a median household income of $61,964 against $52,625 in ZIP 52157, with per-capita income of $35,177 vs $37,903. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.4% in 52049 and 18.4% in 52157. Poverty rate reads 9.1% vs 10.5%, and unemployment 1.9% 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 $170,800 in 52049 versus $193,500 in 52157, with median rent of $881 and $714 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.7% vs 71.3%. 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.