ZIP 52737 vs ZIP 52738

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52737 (Columbus City, IA) and ZIP 52738 (Columbus Junction, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52737 has a population of 384 at 632 people per square mile, while ZIP 52738 has 3,567 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 52737 reports a median household income of $89,875 against $80,385 in ZIP 52738, with per-capita income of $38,448 vs $33,829. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 4.8% in 52737 and 22.2% in 52738. Poverty rate reads 5.9% vs 11.8%, and unemployment 6.1% 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 $111,600 in 52737 versus $145,700 in 52738, with median rent of — and $643 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 97.7% vs 80.2%. 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.