ZIP 52650 vs ZIP 52637

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52650 (Sperry, IA) and ZIP 52637 (Mediapolis, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52650 has a population of 826 at 8 people per square mile, while ZIP 52637 has 2,449 at 14 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 52650 reports a median household income of $105,255 against $81,477 in ZIP 52637, with per-capita income of $46,037 vs $33,947. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.7% in 52650 and 29.1% in 52637. Poverty rate reads 0.0% vs 6.1%, and unemployment 2.8% vs 1.2% — 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 $247,500 in 52650 versus $194,500 in 52637, with median rent of $1,302 and $1,040 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.1% vs 84.3%. 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.