ZIP 52728 vs ZIP 61232

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52728 (Buffalo, IA) and ZIP 61232 (Andalusia, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52728 has a population of 1,110 at 269 people per square mile, while ZIP 61232 has 1,284 at 175 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 52728 reports a median household income of $69,239 against $73,971 in ZIP 61232, with per-capita income of $32,682 vs $43,777. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.2% in 52728 and 16.9% in 61232. Poverty rate reads 19.9% vs 3.3%, and unemployment 2.3% vs 1.8% — 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 $120,900 in 52728 versus $186,100 in 61232, with median rent of $769 and $967 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.6% vs 88.2%. 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.