ZIP 55103 vs ZIP 55102

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55103 (Saint Paul, MN) and ZIP 55102 (Saint Paul, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55103 has a population of 12,991 at 2,404 people per square mile, while ZIP 55102 has 18,207 at 2,160 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 55103 reports a median household income of $48,390 against $76,406 in ZIP 55102, with per-capita income of $27,118 vs $59,639. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.2% in 55103 and 56.4% in 55102. Poverty rate reads 24.8% vs 16.2%, and unemployment 4.8% vs 4.9% — 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 $257,500 in 55103 versus $292,200 in 55102, with median rent of $1,054 and $1,319 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 41.7% vs 44.9%. 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.