ZIP 52766 vs ZIP 52776

This side-by-side compares ZIP 52766 (Nichols, IA) and ZIP 52776 (West Liberty, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 52766 has a population of 820 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 52776 has 4,947 at 23 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 52766 reports a median household income of $61,865 against $79,665 in ZIP 52776, with per-capita income of $34,773 vs $36,299. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 6.5% in 52766 and 20.7% in 52776. Poverty rate reads 4.3% vs 8.8%, and unemployment 0.5% vs 1.9% — 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 $127,900 in 52766 versus $204,000 in 52776, with median rent of $966 and $1,012 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.7% vs 78.8%. 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.