ZIP 52556 vs ZIP 52533

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52556 (Fairfield, IA) and ZIP 52533 (Batavia, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52556 has a population of 13,247 at 29 people per square mile, while ZIP 52533 has 1,215 at 5 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 52556 reports a median household income of $59,243 against $62,799 in ZIP 52533, with per-capita income of $40,168 vs $31,098. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 48.0% in 52556 and 21.3% in 52533. Poverty rate reads 16.8% vs 10.6%, and unemployment 8.9% vs 2.8% — 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 $166,800 in 52556 versus $126,800 in 52533, with median rent of $878 and $1,074 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 63.6% vs 79.6%. 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.