ZIP 55763 vs ZIP 55705

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