ZIP 56362 vs ZIP 56371

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56362 (Paynesville, MN) and ZIP 56371 (Roscoe, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56362 has a population of 5,844 at 15 people per square mile, while ZIP 56371 has 99 at 85 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 56362 reports a median household income of $86,212 against $51,250 in ZIP 56371, with per-capita income of $42,972 vs $25,880. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.6% in 56362 and 4.3% in 56371. Poverty rate reads 4.8% vs 26.3%, and unemployment 1.7% vs 7.1% — 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 $258,900 in 56362 versus $173,200 in 56371, with median rent of $829 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.3% vs 79.5%. 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.