ZIP 52301 vs ZIP 52209

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52301 (Marengo, IA) and ZIP 52209 (Blairstown, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52301 has a population of 3,873 at 12 people per square mile, while ZIP 52209 has 1,074 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 52301 reports a median household income of $70,150 against $86,094 in ZIP 52209, with per-capita income of $33,446 vs $39,839. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.8% in 52301 and 24.7% in 52209. Poverty rate reads 9.4% vs 7.1%, and unemployment 2.6% vs 1.2% — 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 $160,300 in 52301 versus $223,400 in 52209, with median rent of $730 and $757 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.1% vs 77.0%. 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.