ZIP 55021 vs ZIP 55019

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55021 (Faribault, MN) and ZIP 55019 (Dundas, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55021 has a population of 29,732 at 64 people per square mile, while ZIP 55019 has 1,817 at 35 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 55021 reports a median household income of $68,820 against $117,381 in ZIP 55019, with per-capita income of $36,459 vs $53,533. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.0% in 55021 and 43.6% in 55019. Poverty rate reads 13.8% vs 2.0%, and unemployment 4.6% vs 10.3% — 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 $280,200 in 55021 versus $350,700 in 55019, with median rent of $1,076 and $1,375 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.8% vs 96.8%. 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.