ZIP Code 51246 — Rock Rapids city, IA Demographics & Data

ZIP code 51246 covers Rock Rapids, IA in Lyon County with a population of about 4,075.

At a glance, the area shows median age of 38.5 (near the U.S. median).

It sits in telephone area code 712; U.S. House district IA-4; the SIOUX FALLS (MITCHELL) media market.

Rock Rapids, IA is tagged as a Tribal Nation community context (place names indicate a tribal nation community). Local search often includes tribal government offices, public safety, and Indian Health Service (IHS) / wellness topics alongside standard ZIP demographics.

Median household income in ZIP 51246 is about $69,320 — about 8% below the U.S. median ($75,149).

On socioeconomic markers, US5 shows a poverty rate of 4.2%; unemployment rate near 2.4%; 21.4% of adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher (about 12.4 points below the national share (33.7%)).

Labor and commute patterns include leading industry context around Education, Manufacturing, and Retail trade; about 8.9% of workers reporting work-from-home (about 6.3 points below the U.S. share (15.2%)); a mean commute of about 180.0 minutes (U.S. average near 26.8).

Median home value is about $232,900 — about 33% below the U.S. median home value ($348,079).

Housing tenure and rents show median gross rent around $512 (about 56% below the U.S. median rent ($1,163)), and owner-occupancy near 80.1% (about 14.7 points above the national owner-occupancy rate (65.4%)).

To comfortably buy a median-priced home in ZIP 51246 in Rock Rapids, IA, a household would need roughly $64,000 in annual income under a 20% down, 30-year loan at 6.8% (illustrative), keeping housing costs near 28% of income. Estimated monthly PITI is about $1,496. That is roughly in line with the local median household income ($69,320). Rates, taxes, insurance, and HOA fees vary — treat this as a planning estimate, not a lender quote.

FEMA’s National Risk Index rates natural-hazard risk for Rock Rapids city, IA as Very Low (composite score 19.2), which is relatively lower than many U.S. communities. The strongest component scores on US5 are wildfire (28.4) and flood (19.6). These scores are county-linked NRI values published for planning context — all ZIP codes in the same county share the same composite score on US5. Useful when comparing insurance and disaster exposure across areas, not a substitute for a parcel-level flood or fire determination.

Climate normals for Rock Rapids city, IA show little to no average snow and around 29.3 inches of annual precipitation.

IRS migration statistics show a net inflow of about 234 for ZIP 51246 (Rock Rapids city, IA) on US5’s published series — a signal of people/tax filers moving in relative to those leaving. Inflows often track job growth, housing demand, or lifestyle migration; treat the figure as a directional indicator rather than a precise headcount.