ZIP 52353 vs ZIP 52247

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52353 (Washington, IA) and ZIP 52247 (Kalona, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52353 has a population of 9,173 at 23 people per square mile, while ZIP 52247 has 5,645 at 27 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 52353 reports a median household income of $63,047 against $91,450 in ZIP 52247, with per-capita income of $36,884 vs $41,555. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.8% in 52353 and 35.1% in 52247. Poverty rate reads 11.8% vs 7.5%, and unemployment 2.8% vs 0.8% — 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 $160,500 in 52353 versus $298,900 in 52247, with median rent of $969 and $845 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 67.7% vs 71.7%. 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.