ZIP 56144 vs ZIP 56140

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56144 (Jasper, MN) and ZIP 56140 (Ihlen, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56144 has a population of 1,143 at 5 people per square mile, while ZIP 56140 has 59 at 189 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 56144 reports a median household income of $58,375 against $66,250 in ZIP 56140, with per-capita income of $27,945 vs $34,537. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.9% in 56144 and 35.0% in 56140. Poverty rate reads 17.1% vs 4.9%, and unemployment 0.9% vs 0.0% — 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 $95,000 in 56144 versus $86,200 in 56140, with median rent of $740 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.3% vs 100.0%. 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.