ZIP 57038 vs ZIP 51109

This side-by-side compares ZIP 57038 (Jefferson, SD) and ZIP 51109 (Sioux City, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 57038 has a population of 1,667 at 12 people per square mile, while ZIP 51109 has 3,098 at 66 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 57038 reports a median household income of $106,250 against $79,034 in ZIP 51109, with per-capita income of $63,998 vs $37,934. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 40.1% in 57038 and 3.4% in 51109. Poverty rate reads 3.2% vs 16.1%, and unemployment 5.3% 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 $332,300 in 57038 versus $130,900 in 51109, with median rent of $913 and $627 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.7% vs 87.0%. 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.