ZIP 52160 vs ZIP 55931

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52160 (New Albin, IA) and ZIP 55931 (Eitzen, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52160 has a population of 867 at 8 people per square mile, while ZIP 55931 has 330 at 7 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 52160 reports a median household income of $85,204 against $77,917 in ZIP 55931, with per-capita income of $48,487 vs $33,107. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 30.2% in 52160 and 21.7% in 55931. Poverty rate reads 1.7% vs 4.3%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 1.1% — 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 $211,200 in 52160 versus $130,800 in 55931, with median rent of — and $542 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.8% vs 80.8%. 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.