ZIP 55385 vs ZIP 55314

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55385 (Stewart, MN) and ZIP 55314 (Buffalo Lake, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55385 has a population of 1,291 at 5 people per square mile, while ZIP 55314 has 1,337 at 7 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 55385 reports a median household income of $78,125 against $79,500 in ZIP 55314, with per-capita income of $39,773 vs $39,125. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.0% in 55385 and 19.8% in 55314. Poverty rate reads 5.5% vs 11.9%, and unemployment 3.9% vs 3.8% — 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 $206,300 in 55385 versus $179,200 in 55314, with median rent of $746 and $781 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.9% vs 82.9%. 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.