ZIP 52253 vs ZIP 52306

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52253 (Lisbon, IA) and ZIP 52306 (Mechanicsville, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52253 has a population of 3,192 at 27 people per square mile, while ZIP 52306 has 1,754 at 9 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 52253 reports a median household income of $104,821 against $61,875 in ZIP 52306, with per-capita income of $51,205 vs $32,050. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 27.5% in 52253 and 15.8% in 52306. Poverty rate reads 3.8% vs 11.0%, and unemployment 2.4% vs 2.4% — 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 $238,400 in 52253 versus $167,500 in 52306, with median rent of $862 and $933 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.4% vs 81.5%. 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.