ZIP 56292 vs ZIP 56255

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56292 (Vesta, 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 56292 has a population of 636 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 56292 reports a median household income of $68,523 against $66,667 in ZIP 56255, with per-capita income of $32,190 vs $31,427. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.4% in 56292 and 26.5% in 56255. Poverty rate reads 8.1% vs 11.9%, and unemployment 4.8% 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 $127,500 in 56292 versus $170,800 in 56255, with median rent of $1,104 and $683 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 93.6% 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.