ZIP 55330 vs ZIP 55398

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55330 (Elk River, MN) and ZIP 55398 (Zimmerman, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55330 has a population of 36,440 at 135 people per square mile, while ZIP 55398 has 15,540 at 77 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 55330 reports a median household income of $115,761 against $103,419 in ZIP 55398, with per-capita income of $49,633 vs $42,011. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 34.9% in 55330 and 23.0% in 55398. Poverty rate reads 3.8% vs 6.9%, and unemployment 1.9% vs 1.5% — 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 $382,600 in 55330 versus $355,100 in 55398, with median rent of $1,385 and $1,250 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.2% vs 90.3%. 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.