ZIP 56263 vs ZIP 56255

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56263 (Milroy, MN) and ZIP 56255 (Lucan, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56263 has a population of 541 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 56255 has 394 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 56263 reports a median household income of $73,636 against $66,667 in ZIP 56255, with per-capita income of $41,734 vs $31,427. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.5% in 56263 and 26.5% in 56255. Poverty rate reads 11.2% vs 11.9%, and unemployment 6.6% vs 0.5% — 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 $169,200 in 56263 versus $170,800 in 56255, with median rent of $567 and $683 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 92.4% vs 60.6%. 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.