ZIP 52595 vs ZIP 52577

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52595 (University Park, IA) and ZIP 52577 (Oskaloosa, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52595 has a population of 416 at 348 people per square mile, while ZIP 52577 has 15,055 at 37 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 52595 reports a median household income of $66,667 against $66,084 in ZIP 52577, with per-capita income of $26,151 vs $36,047. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 27.2% in 52595 and 26.1% in 52577. Poverty rate reads 11.2% vs 15.0%, and unemployment 2.8% vs 4.4% — 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 $104,800 in 52595 versus $163,300 in 52577, with median rent of $739 and $825 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 54.1% vs 66.1%. 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.