ZIP 55046 vs ZIP 55088

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55046 (Lonsdale, MN) and ZIP 55088 (Webster, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55046 has a population of 5,211 at 43 people per square mile, while ZIP 55088 has 1,704 at 19 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 55046 reports a median household income of $95,912 against $132,917 in ZIP 55088, with per-capita income of $39,830 vs $53,241. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.0% in 55046 and 29.1% in 55088. Poverty rate reads 2.3% vs 4.0%, and unemployment 1.5% vs 6.0% — 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 $359,000 in 55046 versus $510,300 in 55088, with median rent of $925 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.3% vs 99.2%. 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.