ZIP 56013 vs ZIP 56027

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56013 (Blue Earth, MN) and ZIP 56027 (Elmore, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56013 has a population of 4,531 at 10 people per square mile, while ZIP 56027 has 969 at 5 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 56013 reports a median household income of $71,553 against $49,954 in ZIP 56027, with per-capita income of $39,322 vs $33,563. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.0% in 56013 and 13.9% in 56027. Poverty rate reads 9.3% vs 19.4%, and unemployment 2.0% vs 4.9% — 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 $176,900 in 56013 versus $57,700 in 56027, with median rent of $945 and $794 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.0% vs 81.1%. 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.