ZIP 55040 vs ZIP 55008

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55040 (Isanti, MN) and ZIP 55008 (Cambridge, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55040 has a population of 12,568 at 49 people per square mile, while ZIP 55008 has 14,685 at 56 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 55040 reports a median household income of $90,900 against $84,513 in ZIP 55008, with per-capita income of $38,712 vs $39,930. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.7% in 55040 and 21.4% in 55008. Poverty rate reads 6.2% vs 8.9%, and unemployment 4.8% vs 2.6% — 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 $314,000 in 55040 versus $290,700 in 55008, with median rent of $1,264 and $1,325 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.3% vs 75.7%. 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.