ZIP 56280 vs ZIP 56291

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56280 (Porter, MN) and ZIP 56291 (Taunton, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56280 has a population of 480 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 56291 has 501 at 3 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 56280 reports a median household income of $78,214 against $63,438 in ZIP 56291, with per-capita income of $36,759 vs $40,207. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.2% in 56280 and 23.4% in 56291. Poverty rate reads 14.9% vs 12.4%, and unemployment 2.7% vs 3.4% — 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 $203,400 in 56280 versus $183,900 in 56291, with median rent of $925 and $625 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.9% vs 93.1%. 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.