ZIP 52247 vs ZIP 52356

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52247 (Kalona, IA) and ZIP 52356 (Wellman, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52247 has a population of 5,645 at 27 people per square mile, while ZIP 52356 has 2,656 at 11 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 52247 reports a median household income of $91,450 against $57,321 in ZIP 52356, with per-capita income of $41,555 vs $35,475. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 35.1% in 52247 and 20.9% in 52356. Poverty rate reads 7.5% vs 2.8%, and unemployment 0.8% vs 1.4% — 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 $298,900 in 52247 versus $227,800 in 52356, with median rent of $845 and $837 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.7% vs 80.0%. 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.