ZIP 52577 vs ZIP 50207

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52577 (Oskaloosa, IA) and ZIP 50207 (New Sharon, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52577 has a population of 15,055 at 37 people per square mile, while ZIP 50207 has 2,537 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 52577 reports a median household income of $66,084 against $76,053 in ZIP 50207, with per-capita income of $36,047 vs $40,065. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.1% in 52577 and 23.6% in 50207. Poverty rate reads 15.0% vs 7.7%, and unemployment 4.4% vs 1.7% — 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 $163,300 in 52577 versus $156,300 in 50207, with median rent of $825 and $683 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 66.1% vs 66.6%. 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.