ZIP 55121 vs ZIP 55120

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55121 (Saint Paul, MN) and ZIP 55120 (Saint Paul, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55121 has a population of 7,861 at 336 people per square mile, while ZIP 55120 has 4,352 at 314 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 55121 reports a median household income of $87,152 against $116,346 in ZIP 55120, with per-capita income of $51,298 vs $64,902. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 44.4% in 55121 and 57.6% in 55120. Poverty rate reads 6.0% vs 3.1%, and unemployment 2.0% vs 0.6% — 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 $301,400 in 55121 versus $515,600 in 55120, with median rent of $1,723 and $1,628 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 41.1% vs 61.3%. 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.