ZIP 65026 vs ZIP 65486

This side-by-side compares ZIP 65026 (Eldon, MO) and ZIP 65486 (Iberia, MO) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 65026 has a population of 11,551 at 31 people per square mile, while ZIP 65486 has 3,423 at 10 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 65026 reports a median household income of $48,824 against $71,744 in ZIP 65486, with per-capita income of $26,545 vs $33,611. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.4% in 65026 and 15.7% in 65486. Poverty rate reads 19.0% vs 10.2%, and unemployment 5.5% vs 2.0% — 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 $190,500 in 65026 versus $163,100 in 65486, with median rent of $799 and $553 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.6% vs 89.3%. 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.