ZIP 55001 vs ZIP 55043

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55001 (Afton, MN) and ZIP 55043 (Lakeland, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55001 has a population of 2,916 at 43 people per square mile, while ZIP 55043 has 3,540 at 353 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 55001 reports a median household income of $133,581 against $102,966 in ZIP 55043, with per-capita income of $65,669 vs $60,732. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 57.8% in 55001 and 47.7% in 55043. Poverty rate reads 6.2% vs 6.0%, and unemployment 3.1% vs 3.4% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $673,900 in 55001 versus $383,500 in 55043, with median rent of $2,333 and $1,617 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 98.4% vs 91.1%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.