ZIP 56143 vs ZIP 56111

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56143 (Jackson, MN) and ZIP 56111 (Alpha, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56143 has a population of 4,478 at 10 people per square mile, while ZIP 56111 has 420 at 3 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 56143 reports a median household income of $70,771 against $98,125 in ZIP 56111, with per-capita income of $43,347 vs $78,267. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 30.4% in 56143 and 35.1% in 56111. Poverty rate reads 9.4% vs 7.3%, and unemployment 3.6% vs 1.8% — 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 $162,400 in 56143 versus $104,800 in 56111, with median rent of $770 and $1,268 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.8% vs 90.4%. 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.