ZIP 56308 vs ZIP 56360

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56308 (Alexandria, MN) and ZIP 56360 (Osakis, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56308 has a population of 23,961 at 60 people per square mile, while ZIP 56360 has 3,917 at 12 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 56308 reports a median household income of $78,177 against $69,013 in ZIP 56360, with per-capita income of $45,025 vs $39,253. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 34.0% in 56308 and 20.6% in 56360. Poverty rate reads 8.7% vs 10.3%, and unemployment 2.8% vs 2.9% — 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 $341,900 in 56308 versus $246,300 in 56360, with median rent of $956 and $638 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 72.6% vs 79.7%. 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.