ZIP 56170 vs ZIP 56186

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56170 (Ruthton, MN) and ZIP 56186 (Woodstock, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56170 has a population of 587 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 56186 has 388 at 2 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 56170 reports a median household income of $58,750 against $65,833 in ZIP 56186, with per-capita income of $38,920 vs $46,986. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 11.4% in 56170 and 10.0% in 56186. Poverty rate reads 15.3% vs 8.3%, and unemployment 6.8% vs 1.6% — 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 $100,000 in 56170 versus $188,400 in 56186, with median rent of $792 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.6% vs 88.9%. 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.