ZIP 55120 vs ZIP 55150

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55120 (Saint Paul, MN) and ZIP 55150 (Mendota, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55120 has a population of 4,352 at 314 people per square mile, while ZIP 55150 has 198 at 226 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 55120 reports a median household income of $116,346 against $111,250 in ZIP 55150, with per-capita income of $64,902 vs $55,619. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 57.6% in 55120 and 39.0% in 55150. Poverty rate reads 3.1% vs 12.9%, and unemployment 0.6% vs 4.2% — 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 $515,600 in 55120 versus $310,000 in 55150, with median rent of $1,628 and $875 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 61.3% vs 76.7%. 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.