ZIP 55720 vs ZIP 55718

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55720 (Cloquet, MN) and ZIP 55718 (Carlton, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55720 has a population of 16,999 at 41 people per square mile, while ZIP 55718 has 3,281 at 21 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 55720 reports a median household income of $64,167 against $96,546 in ZIP 55718, with per-capita income of $37,770 vs $43,080. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.2% in 55720 and 29.2% in 55718. Poverty rate reads 14.1% vs 4.3%, and unemployment 4.9% vs 6.2% — 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 $223,200 in 55720 versus $319,100 in 55718, with median rent of $1,023 and $955 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.8% vs 87.1%. 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.