ZIP 56448 vs ZIP 56442

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56448 (Fifty Lakes, MN) and ZIP 56442 (Crosslake, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56448 has a population of 332 at 5 people per square mile, while ZIP 56442 has 2,381 at 26 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 56448 reports a median household income of $93,365 against $79,896 in ZIP 56442, with per-capita income of $46,267 vs $59,545. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 44.6% in 56448 and 30.9% in 56442. Poverty rate reads 13.2% vs 8.8%, and unemployment 3.0% vs 1.6% — 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 $433,900 in 56448 versus $479,800 in 56442, with median rent of — and $1,000 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 94.2% vs 84.4%. 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.