ZIP 55918 vs ZIP 55982

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55918 (Brownsdale, MN) and ZIP 55982 (Waltham, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55918 has a population of 982 at 15 people per square mile, while ZIP 55982 has 436 at 6 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 55918 reports a median household income of $78,523 against $102,344 in ZIP 55982, with per-capita income of $35,369 vs $59,862. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.9% in 55918 and 33.8% in 55982. Poverty rate reads 6.8% vs 4.7%, and unemployment 2.7% 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 $163,700 in 55918 versus $309,300 in 55982, with median rent of $813 and $1,188 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.3% vs 94.0%. 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.