ZIP 56169 vs ZIP 56157

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