ZIP 52649 vs ZIP 52630

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52649 (Salem, IA) and ZIP 52630 (Hillsboro, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52649 has a population of 887 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 52630 has 445 at 4 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 52649 reports a median household income of $91,071 against $55,714 in ZIP 52630, with per-capita income of $44,215 vs $33,971. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 29.6% in 52649 and 21.5% in 52630. Poverty rate reads 7.9% vs 7.7%, and unemployment 2.0% vs 0.0% — 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 $245,300 in 52649 versus $69,400 in 52630, with median rent of $850 and $1,188 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.2% vs 78.6%. 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.