ZIP 52353 vs ZIP 52359

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52353 (Washington, IA) and ZIP 52359 (West Chester, 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 52359 has 279 at 7 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 $67,727 in ZIP 52359, with per-capita income of $36,884 vs $25,123. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.8% in 52353 and 24.7% in 52359. Poverty rate reads 11.8% vs 41.6%, and unemployment 2.8% vs 11.1% — 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 — in 52359, with median rent of $969 and $756 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 67.7% vs 93.5%. 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.