ZIP 52144 vs ZIP 52168

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52144 (Fort Atkinson, 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 52144 has a population of 1,261 at 7 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 52144 reports a median household income of $84,609 against $54,375 in ZIP 52168, with per-capita income of $41,795 vs $30,746. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.1% in 52144 and 19.0% in 52168. Poverty rate reads 1.5% vs 14.3%, and unemployment 0.6% 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 $217,500 in 52144 versus $157,500 in 52168, with median rent of $1,083 and $870 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.8% 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.