ZIP 56157 vs ZIP 56169

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56157 (Lynd, MN) and ZIP 56169 (Russell, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56157 has a population of 788 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 56169 has 681 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 56157 reports a median household income of $91,250 against $82,083 in ZIP 56169, with per-capita income of $46,026 vs $38,646. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.2% in 56157 and 21.9% in 56169. Poverty rate reads 2.3% vs 3.4%, and unemployment 2.3% vs 4.6% — 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 $228,100 in 56157 versus $136,500 in 56169, with median rent of $1,120 and $589 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.3% vs 92.2%. 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.