ZIP 52156 vs ZIP 52159

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52156 (Luana, IA) and ZIP 52159 (Monona, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52156 has a population of 659 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 52159 has 2,330 at 12 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 52156 reports a median household income of $99,554 against $74,259 in ZIP 52159, with per-capita income of $43,608 vs $37,494. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.2% in 52156 and 11.8% in 52159. Poverty rate reads 4.9% vs 7.8%, and unemployment 0.4% vs 1.5% — 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 $225,700 in 52156 versus $165,400 in 52159, with median rent of $922 and $928 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.6% vs 75.3%. 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.