ZIP 55355 vs ZIP 55324

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55355 (Litchfield, MN) and ZIP 55324 (Darwin, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55355 has a population of 9,656 at 22 people per square mile, while ZIP 55324 has 1,234 at 14 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 55355 reports a median household income of $63,295 against $83,269 in ZIP 55324, with per-capita income of $38,653 vs $37,327. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.1% in 55355 and 24.4% in 55324. Poverty rate reads 11.6% vs 6.1%, and unemployment 3.1% vs 3.9% — 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 $224,400 in 55355 versus $355,100 in 55324, with median rent of $999 and $797 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.3% vs 92.4%. 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.