ZIP 52721 vs ZIP 52255

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52721 (Bennett, IA) and ZIP 52255 (Lowden, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52721 has a population of 798 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 52255 has 1,208 at 11 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 52721 reports a median household income of $82,143 against $71,250 in ZIP 52255, with per-capita income of $37,956 vs $42,486. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 15.0% in 52721 and 21.0% in 52255. Poverty rate reads 9.2% vs 9.6%, and unemployment 8.5% vs 4.0% — 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 $200,600 in 52721 versus $156,400 in 52255, with median rent of $895 and $864 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.0% vs 81.3%. 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.