ZIP 55711 vs ZIP 55702

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55711 (Brookston, MN) and ZIP 55702 (Alborn, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55711 has a population of 607 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 55702 has 500 at 3 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 55711 reports a median household income of $61,250 against $78,125 in ZIP 55702, with per-capita income of $27,967 vs $38,106. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 15.7% in 55711 and 23.7% in 55702. Poverty rate reads 23.3% vs 10.0%, and unemployment 20.5% vs 7.5% — 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 $208,100 in 55711 versus $295,000 in 55702, with median rent of $950 and $1,550 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 90.7% vs 92.6%. 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.