ZIP 52544 vs ZIP 52549

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52544 (Centerville, IA) and ZIP 52549 (Cincinnati, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52544 has a population of 7,847 at 22 people per square mile, while ZIP 52549 has 762 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 52544 reports a median household income of $50,572 against $62,292 in ZIP 52549, with per-capita income of $27,735 vs $25,987. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.4% in 52544 and 17.6% in 52549. Poverty rate reads 21.2% vs 17.2%, and unemployment 3.0% vs 7.0% — 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 $116,900 in 52544 versus $88,600 in 52549, with median rent of $785 and $850 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 62.7% vs 92.1%. 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.