ZIP 55358 vs ZIP 55302

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55358 (Maple Lake, MN) and ZIP 55302 (Annandale, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55358 has a population of 4,982 at 35 people per square mile, while ZIP 55302 has 7,107 at 38 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 55358 reports a median household income of $92,039 against $83,235 in ZIP 55302, with per-capita income of $47,082 vs $42,789. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.0% in 55358 and 29.0% in 55302. Poverty rate reads 7.1% vs 6.2%, and unemployment 4.1% vs 2.8% — 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 $329,500 in 55358 versus $347,000 in 55302, with median rent of $1,075 and $1,050 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.4% vs 89.5%. 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.