ZIP 52214 vs ZIP 52219

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52214 (Central City, IA) and ZIP 52219 (Prairieburg, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52214 has a population of 3,090 at 13 people per square mile, while ZIP 52219 has 178 at 149 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 52214 reports a median household income of $86,786 against $45,000 in ZIP 52219, with per-capita income of $44,548 vs $47,441. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.5% in 52214 and 4.0% in 52219. Poverty rate reads 10.7% vs 9.2%, and unemployment 3.2% vs 9.4% — 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 $234,600 in 52214 versus $97,700 in 52219, with median rent of $924 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.5% 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.