ZIP 55912 vs ZIP 55936

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55912 (Austin, MN) and ZIP 55936 (Grand Meadow, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55912 has a population of 28,483 at 59 people per square mile, while ZIP 55936 has 1,861 at 9 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 55912 reports a median household income of $70,177 against $85,114 in ZIP 55936, with per-capita income of $33,148 vs $50,097. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.1% in 55912 and 30.4% in 55936. Poverty rate reads 12.0% vs 4.7%, and unemployment 4.4% vs 0.9% — 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 $170,200 in 55912 versus $232,500 in 55936, with median rent of $951 and $933 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 74.0% vs 88.0%. 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.