Postal Codes

51002 ZIP Code

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ZIP code 51002 covers Alta, Iowa, with a population of about 2,866 and a median household income of $69,375.

Population
2,86626 per square mile
Median age
36.62.1 points below the US average
Median household income
$69,3755% below the Iowa median
Poverty rate
6.5%5.9 points below the US average
Typical home value
$216,136up 23.2% in five years
Median rent
$918about the Iowa median
Degree or higher
24.7%10.3 points below the US average
Homeownership
81.6%16.6 points above the US average
Time zone
Central UTC-06:00observes daylight saving time
Businesses
50

Where 51002 is

Alta, Iowa — the area the Census Bureau draws for this ZIP code. ZIP codes are sets of delivery routes rather than areas, so this is the Census approximation of one, not a Postal Service boundary.

People and households

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Population2,866
Median age36.6
Family households62.8%
Born outside the US19.4%
Speaks a language other than English at home32.5%
White (non-Hispanic)60.3%
Black (non-Hispanic)6%
Asian (non-Hispanic)10.2%
Hispanic or Latino20.6%
Veterans4.5%
Population by age
MaleFemale0-45-910-1415-1920-2425-3435-4445-5455-6465-7475-8485+
Income and poverty

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Median household income$69,375
Income per person$33,666
Poverty rate6.5%
Households on SNAP or cash assistance17.1%

Household income distribution

Under $10k1.6%
$10–15k1.8%
$15–20k1.5%
$20–25k3.7%
$25–30k4.2%
$30–35k3.5%
$35–40k4.8%
$40–45k2.3%
$45–50k3.0%
$50–60k18.7%
$60–75k10.7%
$75–100k14.6%
$100–125k11.8%
$125–150k6.2%
$150–200k8.1%
$200k or more3.4%

Income as declared to the IRS

Filed returns rather than survey responses, so this counts tax units and not households.

Tax returns filed1,290
Mean adjusted gross income$76,827
Returns declaring $200,000 or more5.4%
Returns, under $25k24.0%
Returns, $25k–$50k21.7%
Returns, $50k–$75k17.1%
Returns, $75k–$100k11.6%
Returns, $100k–$200k20.2%
Returns, $200k or more5.4%
Housing

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Median home value$145,300
Median gross rent$918
Owner-occupied81.6%
Vacant homes8.4%
Median year built1962

What the homes are

Detached house78.5%
Attached house4%
2 to 4 units2.1%
5 to 19 units4.3%
20 or more units4.7%
Mobile home6.5%
Home values and rents today

Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Rent Index, courtesy of Zillow. Monthly and current, where the Census figures above are a five-year average and are capped at $2,000,000.

Typical home value$216,136as of 2026-07
Typical home value, 1 yearup 1.2%
Typical home value, 5 yearsup 23.2%
Typical home value, 10 yearsup 64%
Typical home value since 2000
200020132026$216,136$79,660

$79,660 in 2000 to $216,136 in 2026.

Work, commuting and education

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Unemployment rate13.9%
Bachelor's degree or higher24.7%
High school diploma or higher88.3%
Works from home4.2%
Drives to work alone79.6%
Takes public transport0%
Commutes 45 minutes or more5.7%
Health

CDC PLACES 2025 release, model-based estimates. These are modelled small-area estimates for adults, not counts of diagnosed cases.

Obesity37.3% 3.9 pts above the national average of 33.4%
Diagnosed diabetes11.4% 0.6 pts below the national average of 12%
Currently smokes14.3% 1.1 pts above the national average of 13.2%
High blood pressure34.2% same as the national average of 34.1%
Fair or poor general health19% 1.3 pts below the national average of 20.3%
No health insurance (18–64)9.1% 2.2 pts below the national average of 11.3%
Depression19.2% 2.7 pts below the national average of 21.9%
No leisure-time physical activity25.6% same as the national average of 25.4%
Arthritis26.9% 1.8 pts above the national average of 25.1%
Binge drinking19.1% 3.1 pts above the national average of 16%
Taking blood pressure medication78.4% 3.7 pts above the national average of 74.7%
Cancer (non-skin)9.1% 1.4 pts above the national average of 7.7%
Current asthma9.6% 0.8 pts below the national average of 10.4%
Coronary heart disease7.1% 0.9 pts above the national average of 6.2%
Routine check-up in past year78% 1.3 pts above the national average of 76.7%
Cholesterol screening84.7% 1.2 pts below the national average of 85.9%
Cognitive disability13.4% 1.4 pts below the national average of 14.8%
Colorectal screening67.1% 2.8 pts above the national average of 64.3%
COPD7% same as the national average of 6.6%
Visited a dentist69.2% 7.9 pts above the national average of 61.3%
Any disability28% 2.7 pts below the national average of 30.7%
Lacks emotional support24% 0.8 pts below the national average of 24.8%
Food insecurity12.4% 4.7 pts below the national average of 17.1%
Received food stamps10% 4.3 pts below the national average of 14.3%
Hearing disability8% 1.3 pts above the national average of 6.7%
High cholesterol36.7% 0.5 pts above the national average of 36.2%
Housing insecurity9.9% 3.9 pts below the national average of 13.8%
Independent living disability7.5% 0.9 pts below the national average of 8.4%
Lacks transport6.9% 2.3 pts below the national average of 9.2%
Loneliness32.9% 1.5 pts below the national average of 34.4%
Mammography use80.8% 4.9 pts above the national average of 75.9%
Poor mental health (14+ days)15.8% 1 pts below the national average of 16.8%
Mobility disability13.3% 0.7 pts below the national average of 14%
Poor physical health (14+ days)12.9% 0.6 pts below the national average of 13.5%
Self-care disability3.5% 0.5 pts below the national average of 4%
Utility shut-off threat6.4% 2.4 pts below the national average of 8.8%
Sleeps under 7 hours31.6% 4.8 pts below the national average of 36.4%
Stroke3.5% same as the national average of 3.4%
All natural teeth lost10.2% 2.8 pts below the national average of 13%
Vision disability4.6% 1 pts below the national average of 5.6%
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Business and employment

Census ZIP Code Business Patterns 2022

Business establishments50
People employed252
Annual payroll$13,246,000
Natural hazard risk

FEMA National Risk Index, estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data — the NRI is not published per ZIP.

Overall riskHigher than 75.6% of US census tracts
FEMA ratingRelatively Moderate to Relatively High across the 4 census tracts this ZIP code covers
Expected annual loss74.7 out of 100
Community resilience41.1 out of 100

By hazard

Score is out of 100 and is the area-weighted average across the census tracts this ZIP code covers. The rating beside it is the highest any one of those tracts carries.

Hail98.6Very High at its worst in this ZIP code
Drought96.7Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code
Winter weather95.7Very High at its worst in this ZIP code
Strong wind95.1Very High at its worst in this ZIP code
Tornado93.6Very High at its worst in this ZIP code
Cold wave89Relatively High at its worst in this ZIP code
Ice storm77.2Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code
Landslide74.3Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Wildfire65.8Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code
River flooding59.6Relatively High at its worst in this ZIP code
Lightning46.7Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code
Heat wave24.4Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Earthquake13.1Very Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Compared with Iowa and the United States

State and national columns are figures for those areas, not for this ZIP code. American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

This ZIPIowaUnited States
Median household income$69,375$73,147$78,538
Income per person$33,666$39,728$43,289
Poverty rate6.5%11%12.4%
Median home value$145,300$195,900$303,400
Median gross rent$918$949$1,348
Homeownership81.6%71.5%65%
Bachelor's degree or higher24.7%30.9%35%
Unemployment rate13.9%3.6%5.2%
Works from home4.2%10.4%13.5%
Born outside the US19.4%5.7%13.9%
Median age36.638.638.7
Climate

NOAA US Climate Normals 1991-2020, from the nearest weather station with a full year of records. The station and its distance are named above, because a station forty kilometres away describes somewhere else.

Weather stationSTORM LAKE, IA US10.3 km away
Rain in a year34 in

Average high and low by month

January25.8°F / 8.8°F0.77 in rain
February30.2°F / 13.3°F1.01 in rain
March43.4°F / 25.1°F1.74 in rain
April58.1°F / 36.9°F3.53 in rain
May69.1°F / 49.4°F4.87 in rain
June79.2°F / 60.2°F5.33 in rain
July82.3°F / 63.7°F3.83 in rain
August79.9°F / 61.4°F4.43 in rain
September74.1°F / 52.6°F2.96 in rain
October60.6°F / 39.6°F2.42 in rain
November44.3°F / 26.6°F1.75 in rain
December31.1°F / 15.3°F1.11 in rain
Access to food

USDA Food Access Research Atlas, estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data. Each figure is the share of the ZIP code's land area that falls in a tract carrying that flag.

Low income and far from a supermarketNone of this ZIP code
Far from a supermarketNone of this ZIP code
No vehicle and far from a supermarketNone of this ZIP code
School districts

NCES Geographic Relationship File 2025, which states the association between each district and each ZIP code tabulation area directly. Elementary and secondary districts can cover the same ground, so shares need not total 100%.

Alta-Aurelia Community School District97.8% of this ZIP code's land area
Community and walkability

CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index 2022 and the EPA National Walkability Index, both estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data. Vulnerability figures are national percentile ranks, not measurements.

Overall social vulnerability50more vulnerable than 50% of US census tracts
Socioeconomic status36more vulnerable than 36% of US census tracts
Household characteristics65more vulnerable than 65% of US census tracts
Racial and ethnic minority status37more vulnerable than 37% of US census tracts
Housing type and transport59more vulnerable than 59% of US census tracts
Walkability4.7 out of 20Least walkable
Nearby ZIP codes

The closest ZIP codes by centre point, which is not the same as sharing a border.

50588 Storm Lake, IA10.1 km away
51005 Aurelia, IA10.4 km away
50592 Truesdale, IA11.8 km away
51053 Schaller, IA19.2 km away
50576 Rembrandt, IA20.5 km away
51020 Galva, IA20.9 km away
51012 Cherokee, IA21.4 km away
51033 Linn Grove, IA22.5 km away
Location, counties and time zone

County shares from Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files. Time zone from the USDOT National Transportation Atlas, which renders the boundaries written into 49 CFR Part 71.

Buena Vista County98.6% of this ZIP code's land area
Cherokee County1.4% of this ZIP code's land area
Time zoneCentral (UTC-06:00 standard)
Daylight saving timeObserved
Land area109.69 sq mi
Water area0.04 sq mi
Population density26 people per sq mi
Latitude, longitude42.6771, -95.3129

Figures are published for this ZIP code or its Census tabulation area unless a section says otherwise. Estimates whose margin of error made them unreliable are omitted rather than shown. Sources: US Census Bureau, CDC, IRS.

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