ZIP 52358 vs ZIP 52776

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52358 (West Branch, IA) and ZIP 52776 (West Liberty, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52358 has a population of 3,733 at 19 people per square mile, while ZIP 52776 has 4,947 at 23 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 52358 reports a median household income of $91,686 against $79,665 in ZIP 52776, with per-capita income of $45,472 vs $36,299. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 34.1% in 52358 and 20.7% in 52776. Poverty rate reads 4.7% vs 8.8%, and unemployment 4.3% vs 1.9% — 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 $240,300 in 52358 versus $204,000 in 52776, with median rent of $1,092 and $1,012 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.9% vs 78.8%. 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.