ZIP 56287 vs ZIP 56293

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56287 (Seaforth, MN) and ZIP 56293 (Wabasso, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56287 has a population of 81 at 71 people per square mile, while ZIP 56293 has 1,223 at 6 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 56287 reports a median household income of $73,750 against $67,396 in ZIP 56293, with per-capita income of $31,509 vs $34,377. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 10.3% in 56287 and 23.2% in 56293. Poverty rate reads 2.0% vs 7.6%, and unemployment 2.0% vs 1.5% — 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 $70,000 in 56287 versus $170,500 in 56293, with median rent of — and $650 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 97.1% vs 81.4%. 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.