ZIP 52574 vs ZIP 52581

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52574 (Mystic, IA) and ZIP 52581 (Plano, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52574 has a population of 826 at 8 people per square mile, while ZIP 52581 has 305 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 52574 reports a median household income of $46,625 against $55,000 in ZIP 52581, with per-capita income of $28,051 vs $33,107. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 4.6% in 52574 and 10.9% in 52581. Poverty rate reads 9.8% vs 4.8%, and unemployment 6.4% vs 15.5% — 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 $80,000 in 52574 versus $154,900 in 52581, with median rent of $550 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.2% vs 88.5%. 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.