ZIP 56137 vs ZIP 56161

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56137 (Heron Lake, MN) and ZIP 56161 (Okabena, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56137 has a population of 1,149 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 56161 has 400 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 56137 reports a median household income of $71,250 against $86,000 in ZIP 56161, with per-capita income of $39,683 vs $47,734. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.9% in 56137 and 29.1% in 56161. Poverty rate reads 6.7% vs 11.5%, and unemployment 1.0% vs 4.3% — 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 $123,900 in 56137 versus $112,500 in 56161, with median rent of $830 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.6% vs 95.9%. 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.