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Your Zip Code Matters Simulator

Hailey Rau

Mount Marty University

HSV-490: Senior Seminar

Professor Heather Pagel

April 12, 2024

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The activity I developed was a poverty simulator to explain how the zip code a person is

born matters to the access of resources that are available. Access to resources are extremely

important in a person's development and their outcome in life. My simulator was inspired by

Rachel Marquez from Emory Centers for Public Health Training and Technical Assistance, at the

2024 Spring Tobacco Control Institute. She explained how the zipcode someone is born into

almost predetermines someone's future. That’s because one’s zip code depends on the resources

that are available, so zip codes that have higher rates of poverty tend to have a lack of resources

and are targeted more by the drug and alcohol industry.

My simulator starts off by your birthday predetermining your zip code. The zip codes

were picked by towns I previously lived in. Winter is 57701 which is Rapid City, spring is 57783

which is Spearfish, summer is 57201 which is Watertown, and fall is 57719 which is Box Elder.

There is no order to pick the zip code to the season, it's just random. Once you know your zip

code, you receive the amount of dice that represents the zip code. 57783 is Spearfish and you

receive four dice, 57201 is Watertown and you receive three dice, 57719 is Box Elder and you

receive two dice. Finally, 57701 is North Rapid City and you receive only one dice.

After you figure out your zip code you find out your education opportunities and each

education level comes with extra money to your future salary. Roll 0 to 3 means you didn’t

graduate and you get no extra money, 4 to 5 is a high school diploma and you get an additional

$10,000, and 6 to 10 is an associate degree with an additional $15,000. If you roll a 11 to 14 you

have a bachelor's degree with an additional $20,000, then 15 to 18 is a masters degree with an

additional $25,000, and finally 19 to 24 is a Doctorates degree with an additional $30,000. To

find out your salary you roll your dice and each number represents $10,000. Then add the
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additional education bonus. If you notice the maximum salary for someone in Rapid City without

an education is $60,000 while Spearfish is up to $240,000.

Now you know your education and salary, it’s time to know your healthcare access. A

roll 0 to 3 is no healthcare at all, a roll of 4 to 5 is government health care, then a roll 6 to 10 is

company health care. For a roll of 11 to 14 you have company plus accidental care, for a roll of

15 to 18 you have private health care with easier access to specialty clinics, and a roll of 19 to 24

you’re a hospital board member with access to the best health care.

Now a natural disaster hits and you have to roll to see what’s going to happen next. A roll

of 0 to 3 you have nowhere to go and you're stranded and a roll of 4 to 5 you stay in a

community shelter but there’s very limited resources and you’re uncomfortable. For a roll of 6 to

10 you stay with a friend/family member, it’s tight but you're safe and for a roll of 11 to 14 you

stay in a hotel you’re comfortable and not worried about money. For a roll of 15 to 18 you stay in

your timeshare and are very comfortable. A roll 19 to 24 you go to your second house and hardly

worry. At this point in the simulator people start to realize that the zip code you live in matters to

your resources.

I implemented this activity in my Experimental Methods II class to show how it’s not

impossible to have access to resources but a lot harder in poverty zip codes like Rapid City or

Box Elder. Everyone who engaged in the activity really enjoyed how well it simulated poverty in

zip codes. I explained that your zip code was random because it was based on the month you’re

born and you have no control over what month you're born. Just like how kids and families

sometimes don’t have any control of the zip code they live in.

I got some great feedback from the group to make the simulator apply locally. We

discussed changing the towns to Agency Village as one dice, Watertown as two dice, Brookings
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as three dice and Sioux Falls as four dice. These towns are located on I29 and towns many

people in the area have been to. We also discussed making it a longer game by adding different

opportunities to roll for like opportunities to travel or extra activities and the opportunity to

retire. Another thing we discussed was rolling for risks of substance abuse and mental illness but

we were not sure how to implement that.

Overall, this simulator/activity was extremely eye opening to develop but it was even

better to see other peoples reaction. I think this activity made it easier to comprehend how

poverty is also predetermined based on where a person is born, while it’s not impossible to have

access to resources, it was a lot more difficult for people in low income zip codes. I hope in the

future I can perfect the simulator and present it at conferences and community events to help

people better understand that the zip code you’re born in matters because of your access to

resources.