ZIP 55766 vs ZIP 55734

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55766 (Melrude, MN) and ZIP 55734 (Eveleth, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55766 has a population of 43 at 1 people per square mile, while ZIP 55734 has 6,213 at 24 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 55766 reports a median household income of — against $62,703 in ZIP 55734, with per-capita income of — vs $37,011. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is — in 55766 and 25.4% in 55734. Poverty rate reads — vs 13.0%, and unemployment — vs 3.9% — 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 — in 55766 versus $158,700 in 55734, with median rent of — and $915 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is — vs 77.5%. 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.