ZIP 52077 vs ZIP 52169

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52077 (Volga, IA) and ZIP 52169 (Wadena, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52077 has a population of 398 at 5 people per square mile, while ZIP 52169 has 432 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 52077 reports a median household income of $77,188 against $52,321 in ZIP 52169, with per-capita income of $84,116 vs $30,078. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.4% in 52077 and 17.3% in 52169. Poverty rate reads 4.8% vs 13.9%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 2.2% — 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 — in 52077 versus $112,900 in 52169, with median rent of — and $592 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 93.2% vs 78.2%. 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.