ZIP 52132 vs ZIP 52168

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52132 (Calmar, IA) and ZIP 52168 (Spillville, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52132 has a population of 1,938 at 12 people per square mile, while ZIP 52168 has 188 at 451 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 52132 reports a median household income of $100,559 against $54,375 in ZIP 52168, with per-capita income of $44,415 vs $30,746. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.1% in 52132 and 19.0% in 52168. Poverty rate reads 8.0% vs 14.3%, and unemployment 0.3% vs 4.1% — 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 $231,600 in 52132 versus $157,500 in 52168, with median rent of $775 and $870 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 70.3% vs 65.0%. 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.