ZIP 52146 vs ZIP 52170

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52146 (Harpers Ferry, IA) and ZIP 52170 (Waterville, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52146 has a population of 1,039 at 5 people per square mile, while ZIP 52170 has 599 at 5 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 52146 reports a median household income of $61,750 against $72,788 in ZIP 52170, with per-capita income of $39,468 vs $41,749. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.0% in 52146 and 17.5% in 52170. Poverty rate reads 4.9% vs 9.2%, and unemployment 8.0% vs 0.0% — 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 $234,700 in 52146 versus $222,700 in 52170, with median rent of $643 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 95.7% vs 89.1%. 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.