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Madison County · Iowa

ZIP code 50273

Population, income, housing costs and the sales tax rate charged on purchases inside ZIP 50273 — Census 2019-2023 ACS 5-year, no modelled estimates.
Population
9,123

ZCTA residents

Median income
$80,018

Household, past 12 months

Median home
$216,100

Owner-occupied value

Sales tax
6%

Iowa state rate

Quick answer

ZIP 50273 sits in Madison County, Iowa and is home to 9,123 people. Median household income is $80,018, the median home is worth $216,100 and median gross rent is $948. 77.2% of households own their home, and purchases are taxed at 6% (Iowa state rate).

County
Madison County

FIPS 19121

State
Iowa (IA)

970 ZIPs covered

Area codes
Not published

No NANPA match for this ZIP

Metro area
Outside covered metros

Rate jurisdiction used for tax

The numbers for 50273

American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates for this ZCTA.

Population
9,123ZIP 50273 residents
Median household income
$80,018Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
Median home value
$216,100Owner-occupied units
Median gross rent
$948Rent plus utilities, monthly
Median age
39 yrsAll residents
Homeownership rate
77.2%Owner-occupied households

ZIP 50273 in context

How this area compares with national benchmarks.

ZIP 50273 is a mid-size town in Madison County, Iowa, with 9,123 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #87 of 970 ranked by population — larger than 91% of them. The median age here is 39 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly younger profile than the country as a whole. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.

Households in ZIP 50273 earn a median of $80,018 a year, 1.9% above the national figure of $78,538. The median is the midpoint household, not an average, so a handful of very high earners cannot drag it upward the way they distort a mean. Poverty reaches 8.3% of residents here, below the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in ZIP 50273 is valued at $216,100, 28.8% below the national figure, while median gross rent runs $948 a month, 32.6% below the national figure, or roughly $11,376 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 14.2% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is cheap relative to what people here earn. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 2.7×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is easier here than in the average US market. 77.2% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans toward owners. The rent line includes utilities paid by the tenant, a definition worth remembering when comparing it against a landlord's quoted rate.

All values below were released by the Census for this exact geography, with no gap-filling on our side. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.

Reading ZIP 50273 in context

How 50273 sits inside Madison County and Iowa.

ZIP 50273 is tabulated inside Madison County, Iowa, one of 12 ZIP areas the Census publishes for that county and 970 across Iowa. Population sits in the small-town band, typically one main street plus the addresses that feed into it. County assignment on this page follows the largest share of the ZIP's land area, which matters where a delivery route crosses a county line: mail addressed to 50273 can be handled by a post office in a neighbouring county even though the tabulation area is filed here.

Against its own county, 50273 reports a median household income of $80,018, 13% below the $92,479 county median, and 12% above the $71,182 typical IA ZIP. Owner-occupied homes are valued at a median of $216,100, close to the county figure and 43% above the statewide ZIP median. Rent is reported gross — the contract amount plus tenant-paid utilities — at $948 a month, which is why it reads higher than the advertised rent on a listing for the same unit.

Iowa charges 6% statewide, and local governments overlapping 50273 may add county, city or special-district levies on top. We publish the state floor for this ZIP rather than guessing a combined figure, because ZIP boundaries and taxing-district boundaries were drawn for different purposes and do not line up.

Everything above comes from the Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates for this ZIP Code Tabulation Area, with sales tax rates traced to the state revenue agency. Five-year estimates pool sixty months of responses, so they are stable enough to compare 50273 with its neighbours but always trail the current year, and any value the Census suppressed for sample size is shown as unpublished rather than filled in with a model.

Sales tax in 50273

What a purchase inside this ZIP costs at checkout.

Rate applied
6%State base rate only
Tax on $100
$6Rounded to the dollar
Tax on $1,000
$60Before any exemptions

Iowa levies 6% statewide, and counties, cities and special districts inside this ZIP can add their own local rate on top. Check the county page for the local component before you quote a price.

Affordability in this ZIP

Derived from the Census medians above — indicative, not an offer.

Rent burden
14%Median rent ÷ median income
Price-to-income
2.7×Home value ÷ household income
Est. mortgage
$1,121/mo20% down, 30-yr at 6.75%
Poverty rate
8.3%Residents below poverty line

A rent burden above 30% is the federal threshold for cost-burdened households, and a price-to-income multiple above 4× is generally considered a stretched housing market. The mortgage figure is principal and interest only — taxes, insurance and HOA dues are extra.

How 50273 compares

ZIP 50273 against the median ZIP in Madison County and across Iowa.

MeasureZIP 50273County medianState medianvs state
Median household income$80,018$92,479$71,182+12%
Median home value$216,100$218,000$151,550+43%
Median gross rent$948$900$808+17%
Population9,1231,194935+876%

Medians are computed across the 12 ZIP areas in Madison County and the 970 ZIP areas in Iowa.

Statewide rank

Where this ZIP places among all 970 Iowa ZIP areas.

Income

richer than 67% of 937 state ZIPs

#305
Home value

above 80% of 922 state ZIPs

#188
Population

larger than 91% of 970 state ZIPs

#87

Comparable ZIP codes

Iowa ZIP areas with almost the same household income.

ZIPCountyIncomeHome valueRent
52133Winneshiek County$80,030$208,900—
52656Lee County$80,083$209,000$575
50644Buchanan County$79,861$174,000$770
52571Appanoose County$80,208$198,700$815
50056Story County$79,667$184,300$1,054
50233Dallas County$80,375$198,600$781

Nearby ZIP codes

Other ZIP codes filed under Madison County.

Adjacent ZIP Codes

Other ZIP codes in Madison County, Iowa.

ZIP 50273 questions

Common questions about this ZIP code.

Where is ZIP code 50273?
ZIP 50273 lies mostly in Madison County, Iowa. County assignment follows the largest share of land area, so a ZIP straddling a county line is filed under its dominant county.
What sales tax do I pay in 50273?
Iowa charges 6% statewide, plus any county, city or district rate that applies locally.
Is 50273 expensive to live in?
Median rent runs $948 a month, about 14% of median household income, and the median home is worth $216,100 — +43% against the typical Iowa ZIP.
Is a ZCTA the same as a postal ZIP code?
Not exactly. The Census builds ZIP Code Tabulation Areas from the ZIP codes of addresses inside each census block, so a ZCTA can differ slightly from the USPS delivery route of the same number, and PO-box-only ZIPs have no ZCTA at all.

Related pages for this area.

Sources & transparency

Every figure on this page is a published estimate for ZIP Code Tabulation Area 50273, except the affordability ratios and mortgage estimate, which we derive from those medians and label as estimates.

Last reviewed December 2024. Figures are published for reference and can change; verify with the source agency before filing or contracting. How we build and check this data.