ZIP 52738 vs ZIP 52737

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52738 (Columbus Junction, IA) and ZIP 52737 (Columbus City, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52738 has a population of 3,567 at 11 people per square mile, while ZIP 52737 has 384 at 632 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 52738 reports a median household income of $80,385 against $89,875 in ZIP 52737, with per-capita income of $33,829 vs $38,448. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.2% in 52738 and 4.8% in 52737. Poverty rate reads 11.8% vs 5.9%, and unemployment 2.8% vs 6.1% — 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 $145,700 in 52738 versus $111,600 in 52737, with median rent of $643 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.2% vs 97.7%. 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.