ZIP 52066 vs ZIP 52053

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52066 (North Buena Vista, IA) and ZIP 52053 (Holy Cross, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52066 has a population of 80 at 117 people per square mile, while ZIP 52053 has 1,163 at 8 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 52066 reports a median household income of $51,563 against $83,000 in ZIP 52053, with per-capita income of $32,923 vs $39,920. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.2% in 52066 and 18.8% in 52053. Poverty rate reads 10.5% vs 1.7%, and unemployment 8.3% vs 2.1% — 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 $104,200 in 52066 versus $251,900 in 52053, with median rent of — and $682 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.6% vs 78.6%. 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.