ZIP 56385 vs ZIP 56389

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56385 (Villard, MN) and ZIP 56389 (West Union, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56385 has a population of 928 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 56389 has 111 at 74 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 56385 reports a median household income of $73,500 against $68,333 in ZIP 56389, with per-capita income of $41,073 vs $31,438. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.3% in 56385 and 8.2% in 56389. Poverty rate reads 8.0% vs 17.6%, and unemployment 0.7% vs 6.1% — 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 $235,200 in 56385 versus $150,000 in 56389, with median rent of $967 and $1,375 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.4% vs 81.3%. 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.