ZIP 56212 vs ZIP 56276

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56212 (Bellingham, MN) and ZIP 56276 (Odessa, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56212 has a population of 531 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 56276 has 298 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 56212 reports a median household income of $81,250 against $76,250 in ZIP 56276, with per-capita income of $45,918 vs $35,364. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.3% in 56212 and 27.2% in 56276. Poverty rate reads 8.5% vs 8.6%, and unemployment 0.4% vs 0.0% — 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 $155,900 in 56212 versus $132,500 in 56276, with median rent of $506 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.8% vs 84.0%. 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.