ZIP 52241 vs ZIP 52246

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52241 (Coralville, IA) and ZIP 52246 (Iowa City, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52241 has a population of 18,911 at 615 people per square mile, while ZIP 52246 has 21,114 at 898 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 52241 reports a median household income of $69,243 against $62,521 in ZIP 52246, with per-capita income of $47,061 vs $46,110. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 56.0% in 52241 and 67.3% in 52246. Poverty rate reads 13.0% vs 24.1%, and unemployment 2.2% vs 3.9% — 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 $298,900 in 52241 versus $348,900 in 52246, with median rent of $1,057 and $1,057 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 56.0% vs 45.2%. 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.