ZIP 56007 vs ZIP 56043

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56007 (Albert Lea, MN) and ZIP 56043 (Hayward, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56007 has a population of 21,228 at 49 people per square mile, while ZIP 56043 has 486 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 56007 reports a median household income of $68,846 against $97,708 in ZIP 56043, with per-capita income of $39,953 vs $46,036. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.2% in 56007 and 19.4% in 56043. Poverty rate reads 11.7% vs 7.3%, and unemployment 5.2% vs 0.4% — 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 $166,900 in 56007 versus $177,100 in 56043, with median rent of $855 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.7% vs 88.6%. 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.