ZIP 52536 vs ZIP 52594

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52536 (Blakesburg, IA) and ZIP 52594 (Unionville, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52536 has a population of 967 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 52594 has 399 at 3 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 52536 reports a median household income of $75,000 against $75,938 in ZIP 52594, with per-capita income of $35,621 vs $32,187. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 6.5% in 52536 and 10.9% in 52594. Poverty rate reads 8.3% vs 24.6%, and unemployment 2.1% vs 1.4% — 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 $133,500 in 52536 versus $193,300 in 52594, with median rent of $626 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.5% vs 93.0%. 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.