ZIP 56178 vs ZIP 56149

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56178 (Tyler, MN) and ZIP 56149 (Lake Benton, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56178 has a population of 1,746 at 8 people per square mile, while ZIP 56149 has 1,268 at 4 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 56178 reports a median household income of $87,031 against $65,556 in ZIP 56149, with per-capita income of $42,916 vs $37,689. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.6% in 56178 and 25.9% in 56149. Poverty rate reads 7.2% vs 15.4%, and unemployment 3.0% vs 2.5% — 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 $165,400 in 56178 versus $169,200 in 56149, with median rent of $750 and $548 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.4% vs 79.9%. 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.