ZIP 55109 vs ZIP 55106

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55109 (Saint Paul, MN) and ZIP 55106 (Saint Paul, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55109 has a population of 31,444 at 1,038 people per square mile, while ZIP 55106 has 52,730 at 2,353 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 55109 reports a median household income of $86,776 against $70,187 in ZIP 55106, with per-capita income of $41,089 vs $29,455. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 31.1% in 55109 and 24.0% in 55106. Poverty rate reads 10.0% vs 17.8%, and unemployment 3.5% vs 6.2% — 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 $315,600 in 55109 versus $241,800 in 55106, with median rent of $1,369 and $1,261 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 65.7% vs 61.1%. 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.