ZIP 55376 vs ZIP 55301

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55376 (Saint Michael, MN) and ZIP 55301 (Albertville, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55376 has a population of 16,242 at 208 people per square mile, while ZIP 55301 has 10,535 at 399 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 55376 reports a median household income of $131,266 against $129,232 in ZIP 55301, with per-capita income of $54,317 vs $51,328. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 43.5% in 55376 and 44.6% in 55301. Poverty rate reads 2.7% vs 1.7%, and unemployment 2.9% vs 0.7% — 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 $389,200 in 55376 versus $342,100 in 55301, with median rent of $1,483 and $1,351 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 90.7% vs 91.4%. 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.