ZIP 55053 vs ZIP 55018

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55053 (Nerstrand, MN) and ZIP 55018 (Dennison, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55053 has a population of 1,009 at 9 people per square mile, while ZIP 55018 has 997 at 8 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 55053 reports a median household income of $101,406 against $83,854 in ZIP 55018, with per-capita income of $41,174 vs $50,481. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.6% in 55053 and 27.9% in 55018. Poverty rate reads 4.8% vs 4.0%, and unemployment 1.1% vs 2.0% — 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 $353,900 in 55053 versus $352,100 in 55018, with median rent of $1,000 and $1,288 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 94.1% vs 83.1%. 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.