ZIP 52544 vs ZIP 52571

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52544 (Centerville, IA) and ZIP 52571 (Moravia, 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 52571 has 1,407 at 6 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 $81,953 in ZIP 52571, with per-capita income of $27,735 vs $45,950. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.4% in 52544 and 30.2% in 52571. Poverty rate reads 21.2% vs 8.5%, and unemployment 3.0% vs 5.8% — 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 $116,900 in 52544 versus $197,800 in 52571, with median rent of $785 and $814 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 62.7% vs 83.2%. 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.