ZIP 52155 vs ZIP 52134

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52155 (Lime Springs, IA) and ZIP 52134 (Chester, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52155 has a population of 1,323 at 5 people per square mile, while ZIP 52134 has 285 at 4 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 52155 reports a median household income of $57,917 against $63,125 in ZIP 52134, with per-capita income of $32,437 vs $30,318. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 10.8% in 52155 and 17.3% in 52134. Poverty rate reads 4.8% vs 11.7%, and unemployment 4.8% vs 11.8% — 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 $116,500 in 52155 versus $208,300 in 52134, with median rent of $702 and $579 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.5% vs 85.1%. 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.