ZIP 56384 vs ZIP 56314

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56384 (Upsala, MN) and ZIP 56314 (Bowlus, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56384 has a population of 328 at 116 people per square mile, while ZIP 56314 has 1,258 at 11 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 56384 reports a median household income of $48,750 against $95,972 in ZIP 56314, with per-capita income of $27,459 vs $43,222. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 9.1% in 56384 and 13.1% in 56314. Poverty rate reads 10.6% vs 4.3%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 1.2% — 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 $138,800 in 56384 versus $262,800 in 56314, with median rent of $828 and $775 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 48.7% vs 91.2%. 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.