ZIP 52072 vs ZIP 52047

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52072 (Saint Olaf, IA) and ZIP 52047 (Farmersburg, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52072 has a population of 381 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 52047 has 567 at 6 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 52072 reports a median household income of $62,250 against $59,250 in ZIP 52047, with per-capita income of $30,260 vs $33,233. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 6.2% in 52072 and 5.5% in 52047. Poverty rate reads 10.8% vs 12.3%, and unemployment 1.0% vs 1.2% — 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 $121,000 in 52072 versus $95,800 in 52047, with median rent of $665 and $716 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 57.4% vs 85.7%. 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.