ZIP 52637 vs ZIP 52650

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52637 (Mediapolis, IA) and ZIP 52650 (Sperry, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52637 has a population of 2,449 at 14 people per square mile, while ZIP 52650 has 826 at 8 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 52637 reports a median household income of $81,477 against $105,255 in ZIP 52650, with per-capita income of $33,947 vs $46,037. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 29.1% in 52637 and 23.7% in 52650. Poverty rate reads 6.1% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 1.2% 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 $194,500 in 52637 versus $247,500 in 52650, with median rent of $1,040 and $1,302 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.3% vs 84.1%. 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.