ZIP 55947 vs ZIP 55921

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55947 (La Crescent, MN) and ZIP 55921 (Caledonia, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55947 has a population of 7,513 at 40 people per square mile, while ZIP 55921 has 4,964 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 55947 reports a median household income of $88,611 against $80,161 in ZIP 55921, with per-capita income of $51,014 vs $46,111. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 40.6% in 55947 and 20.4% in 55921. Poverty rate reads 5.3% vs 6.9%, and unemployment 0.8% vs 1.3% — 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 $302,200 in 55947 versus $201,600 in 55921, with median rent of $883 and $836 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.3% vs 79.0%. 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.