ZIP 52163 vs ZIP 52154

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52163 (Protivin, IA) and ZIP 52154 (Lawler, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52163 has a population of 276 at 60 people per square mile, while ZIP 52154 has 995 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 52163 reports a median household income of $78,194 against $58,393 in ZIP 52154, with per-capita income of $31,526 vs $37,561. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 32.8% in 52163 and 25.7% in 52154. Poverty rate reads 2.1% vs 9.0%, and unemployment 0.6% vs 2.8% — 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 $115,000 in 52163 versus $156,100 in 52154, with median rent of — and $621 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.2% vs 83.4%. 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.