ZIP 52221 vs ZIP 52222

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52221 (Guernsey, IA) and ZIP 52222 (Deep River, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52221 has a population of 221 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 52222 has 709 at 3 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 52221 reports a median household income of $86,473 against $81,964 in ZIP 52222, with per-capita income of $35,616 vs $42,740. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 10.2% in 52221 and 11.9% in 52222. Poverty rate reads 4.5% vs 1.9%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 0.3% — 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 $228,000 in 52221 versus $120,500 in 52222, with median rent of $1,667 and $481 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.5% vs 86.3%. 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.