ZIP 52351 vs ZIP 52228

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52351 (Walford, IA) and ZIP 52228 (Fairfax, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52351 has a population of 1,455 at 681 people per square mile, while ZIP 52228 has 2,772 at 29 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 52351 reports a median household income of $128,750 against $118,125 in ZIP 52228, with per-capita income of $44,829 vs $56,845. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 34.2% in 52351 and 41.0% in 52228. Poverty rate reads 1.1% vs 4.8%, and unemployment 2.8% vs 2.8% — 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 $303,000 in 52351 versus $308,900 in 52228, with median rent of — and $1,167 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 92.3% vs 91.0%. 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.