ZIP 55150 vs ZIP 55116

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55150 (Mendota, MN) and ZIP 55116 (Saint Paul, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55150 has a population of 198 at 226 people per square mile, while ZIP 55116 has 23,851 at 1,689 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 55150 reports a median household income of $111,250 against $81,141 in ZIP 55116, with per-capita income of $55,619 vs $62,358. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 39.0% in 55150 and 61.3% in 55116. Poverty rate reads 12.9% vs 8.4%, and unemployment 4.2% vs 4.6% — 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 $310,000 in 55150 versus $418,200 in 55116, with median rent of $875 and $1,318 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.7% vs 51.0%. 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.