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ZIP code

50102

in Garden City, IowaPopulation 36

ZipVitals Score
How is the ZipVitals Score calculated? →

53.12/ 100

Ranked #11,906 of 32,066 US ZIPs (top 37%)

Ranked #401 of 922 Iowa ZIPs (top 43%)

Ranks are modeled estimates — ZIPs a few hundred places apart are effectively tied.

Robust across all 9 health domains

What defines this ZIP

Metrics where this ZIP sits in the tails of the national distribution — the ones that most set it apart. Select any tile for its definition and methodology.

Loud transportation noise

8.0%

in the top 0.5% nationally

Lower is healthier

ST99th
US99th
Definition & source ›

The modeled share of residents exposed to average road, rail, and aviation noise at or above 65 decibels — around the volume of normal conversation.

Full methodology ›

Fiber broadband

100%

at the national maximum

Higher is healthier

ST99th
US99th
Definition & source ›

The share of homes where fiber-optic internet service is available.

Full methodology ›

Transportation noise

21.7%

in the top 2.2% nationally

Lower is healthier

ST99th
US98th
Definition & source ›

The modeled share of residents exposed to average road, rail, and aviation noise at or above 55 decibels — a noticeable background presence.

Full methodology ›

Poverty rate

0.00%

at the national minimum

Lower is healthier

ST1st
US1st
Definition & source ›

The share of residents whose income is below the federal poverty line, from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

Full methodology ›

Homeownership rate

100%

at the national maximum

Higher is healthier

ST99th
US99th
Definition & source ›

The share of occupied homes that are owned, rather than rented, by the people living in them.

Full methodology ›

Home broadband subscription

100%

at the national maximum

Higher is healthier

ST99th
US99th
Definition & source ›

The share of households with a broadband internet subscription.

Full methodology ›

Short sleep

27.4%

in the bottom 2.1% nationally

Lower is healthier

ST2nd
US2nd
Definition & source ›

The estimated share of adults who usually sleep less than seven hours in a 24-hour period.

Full methodology ›

Floodplain exposure

0.00%

at the national minimum

Lower is healthier

ST1st
US1st
Definition & source ›

The share of this ZIP’s land area inside FEMA’s 1%-annual-chance floodplain — the “100-year” flood zone, where flooding has about a 1-in-100 chance in any given year.

Measured from FEMA’s mapped flood panels. Where a panel has not been mapped, no value is published for that ZIP — those ZIPs are absent from this comparison rather than counted as unexposed.

Full methodology ›

Expected annual disaster loss

$0

in the bottom 3.3% nationally

Lower is healthier

ST4th
US3rd
Definition & source ›

FEMA’s modeled estimate, in dollars per year, of the average harm to people expected from natural hazards — an annualized average, not a forecast for any single year.

Full methodology ›

Coronary heart disease

11.2%

in the top 3.6% nationally

Lower is healthier

ST99th
US96th
Definition & source ›

The estimated share of adults who have been told by a health professional that they have coronary heart disease or angina.

Full methodology ›

The read

On balance, and by the composite measure, Garden City, Iowa (ZIP 50102) ranks in the top 37% healthiest ZIPs nationally (11,906th) and the top 43% of Iowa (401st).

continue reading

Neither strongly one way nor the other, the measures sit mixed: fiber broadband sits at the national maximum, and poverty rests at the national minimum. Homeownership is at the national maximum, and home broadband subscription stands at the national maximum. Modeled short sleep settles in the bottom 2.1% nationally, floodplain exposure lies at the national minimum, and modeled expected annual loss resides in the bottom 3.3% nationally. Against that, modeled loud transportation noise lands in the top 0.5% nationally, transportation noise registers in the top 2.2% nationally, and coronary heart disease sits in the top 3.6% nationally.

Compared with the ZIPs it borders, loud transportation noise runs far higher than the surrounding ZIPs on this measure. In plainer terms, expected annual loss is FEMA's modeled estimate, in dollars, of average yearly harm to people from natural hazards. Loud transportation noise is the modeled share of an area exposed to road, rail, and air noise at or above 65 decibels, near conversation volume. Transportation noise is the modeled share of an area exposed to average road, rail, and air noise at or above 55 decibels. For a healthier nearby ZIP overall, look to ZIP 50230, just across the boundary.

What’s driving this score

Nine domains make up the ZipVitals Score — here is how this ZIP does on each, and how much each one counts.

Compared with the ZIP codes measured across all nine scoring domains — not with all US ZIP codes.

Compare within

Lifting this score

Preventive Care

healthier than 95%

13%

Risk Behavior

healthier than 72%

11%

Mental Health

healthier than 95%

8%

Climate / Disaster Risk

healthier than 83%

5%

About typical

Social Need / SDOH

healthier than 47%

16%

Disability

healthier than 46%

7%

Holding it back

Chronic Disease Burden

healthier than 16%

21%

Environmental Hazard

healthier than 28%

14%

Healthcare Access

healthier than 7%

5%

Lifting this score

Preventive Care

healthier than 98%

13%

Risk Behavior

healthier than 96%

11%

Mental Health

in the top 0.5%

8%

Climate / Disaster Risk

in the top 0.8%

5%

About typical

Social Need / SDOH

healthier than 59%

16%

Holding it back

Chronic Disease Burden

in the bottom 1.0%

21%

Environmental Hazard

healthier than 39%

14%

Disability

healthier than 20%

7%

Healthcare Access

healthier than 19%

5%

“Share” is how much of this ZIP’s score the domain accounts for. Percentages are rounded; higher is healthier in every domain. How the score works, and who it compares you with ›

Nearby & similar ZIPs

Editorially selected — see how this ZIP compares to nearby and similar places.

How these were chosen: only ZIPs with a published Score appear — a nearby ZIP with too little data to score won’t. Nearby means closest by distance between ZIP boundaries, which can cross state lines. A similar health profile is a close match across the nine Score domains, not similar demographics. Distances are measured between ZIP boundaries — ZIPs that touch share a border. How distance is measured

Evidence

Every measure this page draws on, by source. Collapsed by default — the full data stays in the page for search engines either way.

Health OutcomesCDC PLACES 2022 / 2023 · BRFSS
MeasureCrude prevalence95% CI
Arthritis among adults35.9%31.5–40.2
High blood pressure among adults47.2%42.2–52.1
Cancer (non-skin) or melanoma among adults13.4%11.8–15.0
Current asthma among adults9.0%7.9–10.3
Coronary heart disease among adults11.2%9.3–13.0
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among adults9.6%7.6–11.9
Depression among adults17.2%14.4–20.3
Diagnosed diabetes among adults16.3%13.5–19.1
High cholesterol among adults who have ever been screened43.3%38.4–48.0
Obesity among adults39.4%31.6–47.4
Stroke among adults4.9%4.1–5.8
All teeth lost among adults aged >=65 years8.6%6.9–10.7
PreventionCDC PLACES 2022 / 2023 · BRFSS
MeasureCrude prevalence95% CI
Current lack of health insurance among adults aged 18-64 years6.8%4.9–9.3
Taking medicine to control high blood pressure among adults with high blood pressure84.7%81.9–87.3
Visits to doctor for routine checkup within the past year among adults82.8%79.7–85.6
Cholesterol screening among adults89.8%87.9–91.5
Colorectal cancer screening among adults aged 45–75 years71.1%65.9–75.9
Visited dentist or dental clinic in the past year among adults72.5%69.2–75.8
Mammography use among women aged 50-74 years78.3%71.1–84.6
Health Risk BehaviorsCDC PLACES 2022 / 2023 · BRFSS
MeasureCrude prevalence95% CI
Binge drinking among adults16.4%13.5–19.7
Current cigarette smoking among adults15.7%11.7–19.4
No leisure-time physical activity among adults27.6%21.7–33.9
Short sleep duration among adults27.4%21.7–33.6
Health StatusCDC PLACES 2023 · BRFSS
MeasureCrude prevalence95% CI
Fair or poor self-rated health status among adults20.0%16.1–24.4
Frequent mental distress among adults13.1%11.2–15.1
Frequent physical distress among adults14.4%12.0–16.9
DisabilityCDC PLACES 2023 · BRFSS
MeasureCrude prevalence95% CI
Cognitive disability among adults11.5%9.4–13.6
Any disability among adults31.0%25.5–36.5
Hearing disability among adults11.6%9.9–13.4
Independent living disability among adults7.3%6.0–8.8
Mobility disability among adults16.7%13.4–20.2
Self-care disability among adults4.1%3.4–5.0
Vision disability among adults4.8%3.9–5.8
Health-Related Social NeedsCDC PLACES 2023 · BRFSS
MeasureCrude prevalence95% CI
Lack of social and emotional support among adults21.2%17.6–25.2
Food insecurity in the past 12 months among adults9.7%7.6–12.5
Received food stamps in the past 12 months among adults8.4%6.4–10.7
Housing insecurity in the past 12 months among adults7.2%5.7–8.8
Lack of reliable transportation in the past 12 months among adults5.5%4.5–6.6
Loneliness among adults27.3%23.0–32.2
Utility services shut-off threat in the past 12 months among adults5.2%4.3–6.3
Community & economyCensus ACS 5-Year · 2024 release · observed
MeasureValueUS median (p10–p90)IA median (p10–p90)
Poverty rate0.0%10.6% (3.1–25.8%) n=32,3648.5% (2.7–19.1%) n=931
Uninsured 18–640.0%9.0% (1.5–24.3%) n=32,2865.4% (0.7–14.7%) n=931
No HS diploma (25+)0.0%7.9% (1.8–20.7%) n=32,5055.1% (1.6–12.9%) n=932
Bachelor's or higher (25+)22.2%23.3% (9.2–53.6%) n=32,50520.9% (9.8–36.8%) n=932
Unemployment rate (16+)14.3%3.9% (0.0–9.8%) n=32,2742.2% (0.0–6.7%) n=932
Households without a vehicle0.0%3.9% (0.0–12.5%) n=32,3222.4% (0.0–7.9%) n=931
Broadband subscription100.0%89.3% (75.1–97.1%) n=32,32288.5% (77.9–95.1%) n=931
Housing cost burden (≥30% income)13.0%23.7% (10.6–40.0%) n=32,32218.2% (9.0–28.8%) n=931
Homeownership rate100.0%78.7% (51.7–94.0%) n=32,32282.1% (66.8–93.5%) n=931
Crowded housing (>1 per room)0.0%1.3% (0.0–6.3%) n=32,3220.4% (0.0–3.3%) n=931
Foreign-born population0.0%2.6% (0.0–18.6%) n=32,5531.0% (0.0–7.2%) n=932
Single-parent households100.0%53.6% (37.3–74.1%) n=32,08756.8% (43.7–75.5%) n=928
Population 65+63.9%19.4% (10.8–33.6%) n=32,55320.2% (12.7–31.0%) n=932
Median age71.6 yr42.2 yr (33.0–56.3) n=32,29242.7 yr (34.1–54.7) n=931
Median household income—$72,070 ($46,039–$118,707) n=30,318$73,848 ($55,055–$102,762) n=911
Median home value$110,200$222,200 ($100,300–$579,820) n=30,049$161,100 ($93,820–$278,170) n=892
Median gross rent—$1,021 ($677–$1,912) n=25,670$825 ($614–$1,113) n=771
Life expectancyNCHS / RWJF USALEEP · model-based
MeasureValueUS median (p10–p90)IA median (p10–p90)
Life expectancy at birth83.2 yr ± 1.6678.9 yr (74.7–82.8) n=31,30880.0 yr (77.2–83.4) n=917

About the ± — it’s this estimate’s give-or-take (statisticians call it the standard error). The true life expectancy for this ZIP most likely falls within 1.66 years of 83.2, and it’s very unlikely to be off by more than twice that.

More ZIPs to explore ▾

How these lists were built: they draw only from ZIPs that have a published Score, so ZIPs with too little data to score are not listed. Distance-based lists use distance between ZIP boundaries with no state filter, so an out-of-state ZIP can appear. Statistically similar means a close match across the nine Score domains, not a demographic match: the measure is the cosine similarity between two ZIPs’ domain scores, taken over the domains both ZIPs have data for and only where that overlap covers at least six of the nine — and where no ZIP clears that minimum-overlap floor, that list is left out rather than filled with a weak match. How distance is measured