ZIP 56207 vs ZIP 56221

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56207 (Alberta, MN) and ZIP 56221 (Chokio, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56207 has a population of 251 at 2 people per square mile, while ZIP 56221 has 773 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 56207 reports a median household income of $87,969 against $74,583 in ZIP 56221, with per-capita income of $42,758 vs $38,813. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.5% in 56207 and 22.3% in 56221. Poverty rate reads 4.3% vs 9.1%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 2.2% — 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 $82,100 in 56207 versus $120,800 in 56221, with median rent of — and $779 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.8% vs 84.3%. 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.