ZIP 55705 vs ZIP 55763

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55705 (Aurora, MN) and ZIP 55763 (Makinen, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55705 has a population of 3,299 at 11 people per square mile, while ZIP 55763 has 554 at 1 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 55705 reports a median household income of $56,208 against $80,750 in ZIP 55763, with per-capita income of $38,648 vs $45,968. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.7% in 55705 and 26.1% in 55763. Poverty rate reads 13.6% vs 8.7%, and unemployment 3.0% vs 2.2% — 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 $124,100 in 55705 versus $209,700 in 55763, with median rent of $507 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.3% vs 92.1%. 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.