ZIP 56143 vs ZIP 56150

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56143 (Jackson, MN) and ZIP 56150 (Lakefield, 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 56150 has 2,742 at 6 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 $76,844 in ZIP 56150, with per-capita income of $43,347 vs $37,288. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 30.4% in 56143 and 19.0% in 56150. Poverty rate reads 9.4% vs 9.2%, and unemployment 3.6% 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 $162,400 in 56143 versus $146,100 in 56150, with median rent of $770 and $945 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.8% vs 87.7%. 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.