ZIP 55038 vs ZIP 55110

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55038 (Hugo, MN) and ZIP 55110 (Saint Paul, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55038 has a population of 20,816 at 162 people per square mile, while ZIP 55110 has 37,759 at 602 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 55038 reports a median household income of $130,931 against $101,296 in ZIP 55110, with per-capita income of $58,634 vs $55,595. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 49.7% in 55038 and 46.8% in 55110. Poverty rate reads 2.4% vs 5.5%, and unemployment 2.2% vs 3.8% — 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 $422,800 in 55038 versus $360,500 in 55110, with median rent of $1,765 and $1,554 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.4% vs 79.0%. 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.