ZIP 56251 vs ZIP 56288

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56251 (Kandiyohi, MN) and ZIP 56288 (Spicer, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56251 has a population of 987 at 11 people per square mile, while ZIP 56288 has 4,696 at 39 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 56251 reports a median household income of $76,917 against $111,021 in ZIP 56288, with per-capita income of $38,878 vs $62,865. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.6% in 56251 and 35.6% in 56288. Poverty rate reads 3.6% vs 3.7%, and unemployment 2.2% 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 $218,400 in 56251 versus $422,300 in 56288, with median rent of $787 and $843 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.6% vs 84.6%. 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.